From Dreams to Reality
by SkyRune
Summary: "Dreams can be a picture of our own desires, and yet with enough determination and courage, anyone can make them come true. Though they change with time, the strength to carry them will never falter". AU and Canon. NaruHina and several others. OC's as well.
1. A Mysterious Intruder

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any other elements that I will use in this story. Those rights belong to Masashi Kishimoto and their proper owners.

A/N: First real fan fiction. Just an idea that I wanted to write down. Will accept any form of review/advice.

Prologue: Part 1: A Mysterious Intruder

July 12, Afternoon (2 days after Kushina's birthday)

"It is always good to have you over, Sensei" a spiky blond said to his wise (although more perverted) long white haired sensei. Minato and Kushina (6 months pregnant) were sitting in the living room with Jiraiya discussing the possible names for their unborn child. "Well Sensei, I was wondering if I could use one of your character's names from 'The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi', we both thought that it would be perfect for our son" said Minato while holding a small green book in his right hand while hugging Kushina with his left.

"Really? I just got that name while I was eating some ramen while having writers block" stated Jiraiya as he explained why this book did not rank among his top best sellers, but instead his worst yet. "Maybe I should go about writing something new, maybe I could use some of my 'research' as material for them" Jiraiya stated while holding a perverted grin while Minato was sending him a death glare. Minato has caught his sensei doing more indecent acts towards the public hot springs then there were paper work in the Hokage Tower.

"if you even think of using what you saw during my honeymoon in Tori no Kuni (Land of Birds); I will hunt you down and shove a Rasengan so far into your skull that it will make Tsunade-sama's punch feel like a gentle breeze" Minato stated while focusing his chakra to form into a blue sphere in the palm of his hand.

Noticing the slight use of chakra, Jiraiya smirked and countered "There is nothing to be ashamed of, gaki. After all, you did learn from the best". Both student and sensei continued their staring while Minato was deciding on whether or not to use the Rasengan on Jiraiya.

"Naruto, it's a beautiful name" as both Minato and Jiraiya stopped staring and looked at a smiling Kushina rubbing her stomach while pulling some of her fallen red hair out of her face. "Back in Uzu no Kuni (Land of Whirlpools), the word Naruto held another meaning" Kushina said while now looking at both confused faces of student and sensei.

"It means Maelstrom, an endless form of energy. I think it's perfect for our son because it reminds me of two of my favorite places" Kushina said while leaning her head on her husband's shoulder. Minato smiles and kisses her on the top of her head. When he had read the story to try and convince Kushina to think about using the name for their son one night during her first trimester, she fell in love with it so fast that it left him stomped as to why she would agree so quickly. Whenever he asked, she would simply reply that she will explain when they could see Jiraiya to use this name. Now that he knows, he is going to get his sensei's permission to use the name for his son. After several more hours of discussion and debate, Jiraiya had finally caved in and gave them his blessing to use the name 'Naruto'.

Once Jiraiya was gone to resume his self-proclaimed 'research', Kushina began to clean up the living room while Minato was going over a few files that the ANBU brought over this morning on the couch. As she was about to head towards the kitchen, Kushina's vision begins to flicker and blur into different hues.

'_Ugh...that's odd, I don't remember any symptoms referring to this when Biwako explained to me about the 'joys' of pregnancy_' she thought before feeling a wave of fatigue overcoming her entire body. "Minato…" was the last word she spoke before finally falling towards the floor.

Minato looks over to his wife to see what his wife wanted to ask, only to see that she is falling to the floor face first. Panicking, he throws one of his tri-pronged kunai towards her before using his signature Hiraishin no Jutsu to catch her. "You need to be more careful, Kushina-chan" Minato smiled as he began with a little banter only to be rewarded with silence.

"Kushina?" he said but when he looked down, only to see that she has begun to lose a lot of color in her face. "KUSHINA?!" he began to yell, trying to wake her up to no avail. "ANBU" Minato screamed as a squad came a moment after their Hokage called. "Yes, Hokage-sama?" replied Boar, the current ANBU captain stationed near the Hokages Residence.

"Send word to the hospital to prepare a room immediately, have them prepare any and all test to diagnose what the problem that is occurring with my wife. Go NOW!" as the Hokage ordered, the ANBU vanished to carry out his will. Minato turned back to his wife and started to pick her up from the ground to carry her.

'_Please hold on. Don't give up on me, both of you_' were his last thoughts before he began his run to the Hospital in hopes of finding either Biwako or Taji.

Kushinas Mindscape

Kushina begins to stir from her slumber at the scent of salt in the air and the bright light radiating off the sun. As she tries to sit up while rubbing the sand out of her eyes, she tries to get a feeling of her surroundings. As she gets up from the ground, she senses a familiar chakra from behind and raises an eyebrow at it. The only one question that came to her mind when she looked around was '_why am I in the seal containing Fur ball_'.

The scene around her is that of an island surrounded by whirlpools and within its center lays a forest with Kyūbi chained to an altar behind her struggling to break free. As she begins her walk over she yells from the beach "What do want, Fuzz ball. I don't have the time or the patience to deal with you right now." Kyūbi growls at her and says **"I did not call you here **_**Human**_**; I take no pleasure having to remain here more than you do in containing me. So why would I wish to converse and waste my time with you"**. She raises an eyebrow at that statement and tries to understand what brought her here. "Forgive me for the intrusion, but I am in need of your expertise, Kushina-san". Shocked from the third voice that appeared out of nowhere, Kushina turns around prepared to fight what has entered her mindscape, only to see what looks to be a child covered in a black coat from head-to-toe. The child appears to be male no older than 16 at best sporting an all-black outfit adorned in silver chains around his coat with his hood up to hide what is left of his face. The only detail that Kushina can make out of him was that he has long silver hair that is braided over his left shoulder extending towards his hip. '_I'm taking no chances here, whoever this child is. He was able to bypass Minato's seal around the house and even more so, enter my mindscape without my knowing_' as Kushina begins to expand chakra in the form of chains from the ground with several hand-signs. "Chakra Chains Barrier" she shouted as chains begin to move through the air to form a dome around said outsider. The outsider looks at the chains that begin to take form, crisscrossing over each other to make a dome.

"It would appear that I have angered you to a degree, Kushina-san. I would suppose that the proper course would be to apologize, but I am unsure as to what that is? It is not as though I would deliberately call you 'Tomato Head' just to get your attention". As soon as he said that, the chains immediately stopped moving and everything was silent. The outsider sighed, figuring that he finally got Kushina's attention, only to be rewarded darkening clouds in her mindscape and a sudden chill running down his back. _'W-what's going on, why do I feel like the Shinigami is right behind me'_ the outsider thought as it began to get even colder when moving his head back left and right to find this strange phenomenon.

Kushina's right eye began to have a noticeable twitch _'did he just say the forbidden word directly to my face'_. So to refrain from losing face, she decides to close her eyes and begins to smile calmly while releasing so much KI (killing intent) to stop a full grown heart and make the Kyūbi remain silent. "It seems that no one has taught you proper manners; care to say it once more". The outsider looked back finally finding the source coming from her, but was a bit confused as to why Kushina was releasing all of this KI towards him as he began to ask "well, I-". Before he could start, Kushina began to perform hand-seals, (Ram, Horse, Snake, Dragon, Rat, Ox, Tiger), inhaling as much air as her lungs can handle while aiming at the barrier. "Katon: Karyū Endan" (Fire Dragon Flame Bullet). Releasing all of her breath, flames began to move in from three different directions of the child.

Preparing to at least defend from the attack, he began several hand-signs, only for the chains to once again start moving at a more intense speed and the dome shrinking in size. Kushina's chains began to attack from all angles, forcing the outsider to try and outmaneuver the chains, which prove to becoming more difficult with limited/decreasing space and an oncoming attack heading towards you in several seconds. _'It would appear that I need to calm her down before we can talk to one another. I just hope she will be reasonable_' as the outsider stopped moving and allowed the chains to wrap around his limbs. Having the chains finally caught her target; Kushina began to tighten her Chakra to ensure that there would be no surprises. Seconds after, the Katon jutsu was able to enter the barrier and consuming the remaining space in an intense flame from all directions.

Kushina let out a grin noting that the intruder was finally caught in her chains and that the flames had hit her mark. This tactic was old, and yet was still a tasteful one to ensure that the deed was done. Releasing her jutsu, the chains began to crumble into sand and blend into the islands beach. As she was beginning to leave, Kyūbi spoke **"if you intend to leave, care to clean up the vermin that still remains in here, worthless human"**. On instinct, Kushina was about to retort to Fuzz Ball only to see that the scorched area did not contain a corpse, but a variety of metal weapons from broadswords, claymores and spears. '_What's going on, I know I got him with that last hit. There is no way he could have used a substitution while within my barrier_' Kushina thought as trying to figure out where the gaki went to. She began focusing chakra into the air to try and get some kind of reaction, only to side step from the three spears that appear directly beneath her.

"…ton: Hyaku eiyū no maisō" (Burial of a Hundred Heroes) was all that Kushina heard when the ground began to shake violently. Dozens of weapons began to erupt from the ground all around, heading towards the sky and descending straight to her. Kushina began to do a series of side steps, avoiding a majority of the bladed weapons. A few had managed tear at her clothes near her left shoulder, right thigh, and several threads of hair. When the last spear hit the ground, she began to look around at what she could only describe as a graveyard that she once saw during the Third Shinobi War near Kusagakure. One of the locals explained to her the blades were there as a symbol to honor their previous lives and to guide the next generation._ 'Our bodies may have fallen but our spirit still stands to this day_'.

"Have you calmed down yet, or do I need to use anymore unnecessary chakra to have a discussion with you" said the Intruder as he surfaced from the ground. Kushina turned around and backed up to prepare for another assault until he spoke "or are you willing to sacrifice your unborn child just to have a fight" as he stated coldly to get the point across. Kushina froze at that one comment about Naruto being in danger because of her.

Her hands came undone from the hand-sign and wrapped them around her stomach where said child gave a slight kick to assure Kushina that he was alright. Smiling at the reassurance, she looked at the gaki who was now holding a 5 foot long Broadsword, three inches thick with a hilt that covers a one-fourth of it (FF7:AC Buster Sword) with partially covered in bandages that looks like it weighs well more than a ton over his right shoulder.

"Alright, alright. I suppose we can be civil about this" as Kushina began to pout at not having to finish a fight but for a good reason. The intruder let out a breath of relief as he stabbed his blade into the ground. As soon as he looked up, Kushina was right on top of him and poked him in the chest, initially causing him to lose balance at the sudden presence. She then had a grin that stretched across her face at the gaki on the ground while viewing ta slight bruise being formed saying "looks like the first hit goes to me…uh".

Blinking out of his stupor from the surprise poke, he finally began to introduce himself. "O-oh, f-forgive me for not introducing myself earlier, Kushina-san. My name is Rune Taiyō (Sun) of Kawa no Kuni (Land of Rivers) and it is an honor to meet you" Rune said as he gave a bow in respect that Kushina is the Hokage's wife. Kushina started to develop a light pink blush at having someone bowing to her, _'now I know how Minato feels when people first bowed to him the few days after the coronation ceremony'_. As Rune was coming back up from his bows a portion of his hood showing his mouth with a smile on his face "and your right, first hit goes to you. I still have a lot to learn if I'm making these kinds of mistakes by letting my guard down".

As soon as her blush died down from the sudden praise, she decided to ask several questions that have plagued her mind during that small skirmish. Kushina looks directly at Runes covered face, "I would like to ask a few questions before we can get to the heart of the matter, if that is alright with you Rune-kun" at which he nods gesturing her with his hands to continue with her questions.

She takes a breath and begins with "what are the purpose of those weapons, I know that you weren't carrying any when you showed up or used a sealing matrix to bring them from a scroll due to the fact you were tied up at the moment" while she is pointing towards the area around them that is still covered in weapons with them in the center of it. Not many people, not even bijuu could escape her chakra chains. The proof is that the Kyūbi is still sealed within her, so how could a gaki escape?

Rune tilts his head away from Kushina while his left arm clutches his right elbow as if trying to avoid the question, but thought that she is only trying to see if there were any flaws in it in case the Kyūbi were ever to exploit it. "Sigh…okay, I'll tell you, but please don't tell anyone else. I really don't want to deal with hunter-ninja from one of the five major Hidden Villages" Rune says with a defeated tone which Kushina raises an eyebrow, but nods with a smile saying "I'll assure you that whatever it is, I'm going to remain passive".

He turns his head back to explain what he did while he was captured. "As you said, I couldn't escape from your chains. I was downright scared that I'd be a well over cooked steak. The only reason I got out of it was due to the fact that I have an advance nature kekkei tōta called Kōton (Steel Release), which involves using both Katon (Fire) and Doton (Earth) to create Yōton (Lava Release). While using my chakra to shape the lava, I then combine it with Suiton (Water) to make the shaped lava into a given weapon. A simple Katon isn't enough to melt this metal; one would most likely need a user of Yōton and Enton (Blaze Release) or both to really do some damage. So all I really did was create mass amounts of weapons to act as a shield around me until the jutsu was done and I was finally free from the chains. Umm…Kushina-san, are you alright, you're staring at me like a carp out of water."

If someone were to put a carp next to Kushina, you would say that they were twins with wide eyes and gaping mouths. She has only heard of Kōton from one of the lectures of the First Shinobi War that was taught at the Ninja Academy and the only known ninja with a kekkei tōta is the Sandaime Tsuchikage, Ryōtenbin no Ōnoki (Fence-Sitter), with his renowned Jinton (Dust Release). If it weren't for the fact that she was pregnant, she would have keeled over from shock of said information and how easily a child got out of chakra chains. It wasn't until Rune was waving his hands in front of her that she finally snapped back to reality (her mindscape) to continue their conversation.

"Oh, yes I'm fine. Just a little overwhelmed that there were other kekkei tōta users out there. I'm just…wow". Rune nods "that's pretty much all I did really. It's not that special compare to most shinobi like the Senju Clan, the Uchiha Clan, the Hyūga Clan and even your husband the Yondaime Hokage. All of them are considered to be treasures of the Leaf from Kawa". What Rune just said snapped Kushina back into the conversation.

"YOU BAKA" as Kushina proceeds to hit Rune on top of his head, forcing him into the ground making a sizable crater in the sand. "You were able to stand your ground against me, the jinchūriki of the Kyūbi no Kitsune. Granted I'm pregnant and can't use all of my jutsu, and you were still able to hold your own. I want you to repeat these words after me".

Rune holds his head shielding it incase Kushina decides to hit him again and listens to what she has to say.

"Saigo made akiramenai". (Don't give up until the very end)

Rune blinked at what she said while tilting his head to the right. "Huh?"

Kushina was about to hit Rune on the head again but he replied, a bit scared though while bringing his hands to cover his head. "S-s-s-sai-go m-m-made a-a-a-akiramenai".

"There, now that wasn't so hard now, was it Rune-kun?" she smiles as he shakes his head fast to make sure she knew that he got it. Kushina got more answers then she could have asked from just that one question. She was able to get a view on his personality and character. Rune was spontaneous scatter brain with a knack of knowing how to read situations. Overall, she could at least help him with his errand.

"Do you have any more questions that you would like answered?" Rune asked knowing that there are more important questions then his kekkei tōta. Yet once again, Kushina surprises him with her question. "Is there anything that I can do to help you with? I may not be a genius like Minato, but I'm sure with the two of us we will be able to figure it out (Da) ttebane" with a smile that could melt gold. "After all, you were able to get into my mindscape with what I would guess was easy for someone like you. Not even the Yamanaka's are able to breach in here".

"..nk...ou" was all that Kushina could hear from the whisper from Rune. Before she could reply, he moved his hands into his hood rigorously wiping his face from what she could only assume were tears.

After a few minutes, he was finally able to talk to Kushina. "The reason that I have come to you today is because I am looking for an item that was once in possession of Mito Uzumaki-Senju. I was hoping that if you had any information on the whereabouts or if it is still in Konoha".

"Might I inquire as to why you would ask me and not Tsunade-sama, since she is Mito-sama's granddaughter?" asked a very confused Kushina about her old caretaker from well over a decade ago.

Rune shook his head "I do not believe so, as this item was given to Mito-sama so that she could look after it and study it. You were the only one that was with here during her final days. I was hoping since she has now passed on, that the item could be returned, if it is not too much trouble".

"If you could, can give me a description of the item, I would be more than happy to return it to Kawa. I see no reason not to return it to its rightful owners" she said with a smile rubbing her stomach to sooth Naruto's constant kicking.

Rune nods with a smile finally appearing on his face "yes, of course. The item that Mito-sama was researching was a Sealing Statue in the form of our first female Daimyō. In Kawa, women are the rightful rulers and she was one of our greatest since the time before the First Shinobi War".

Rune pulls out an old scroll from his sleeve and unravels it showing an ink style portrait of a woman. The woman was shown having long braided hair wrapped around her head before falling down towards her back. Upon her head, she wore in intricate crown that took the form of flames being levitated off of her head. Her face was stern with a regal look from years of political training, but her eyes held that of what a mother would show to her children. From what Kushina could understand of fashion, the late Daimyō wore a kimono that expressed her true value if not equal to that of Mito-sama. The one thing that caught Kushina's eye was that the unique tattoo that was upon her forehead in the shape of the sun. Overall, this portrait of Kawa's First Daimyō could be considered as one of the few epitomes of beauty.

"I must say, I'm rather jealous. From my understanding from viewing this portrait, this would have to have been the most beautiful woman in all of Kawa no Kuni" Kushina stated while holding back a pout for underestimating her own fight to win over every women's bane.

"…yeah… she certainly was" Rune said in a somber tone before rolling the portrait back up. "So, Kushina-san, have you ever seen a statue or bust of her anywhere in Konoha or have an idea as to where Mito-sama would put it for safe keeping?" Rune said wanting to continue their previous discussion.

Kushina had a calm look upon her face when she decided to answer. "I am sorry, Rune-kun, but I have never seen any bust of this description and if I had, it would certainly have been one of the few memories I would never forget". Rune's head and shoulders began to fall down in defeat having run into a dead end in his search. "However,"

Rune looks up with some hope at her words "I have seen the forehead design that was on the Daimyō's in one of the few sealing scrolls that Mito-sama taught me. I can't remember much of them since I was a little…preoccupied at the time, ha ha. But I think it had something to do with Natsu no Kuni (Land of Summer), which I believe is about a three day boat ride south-east from Tsuki no Kuni (Land of the Moon)" Kushina rubbing the back of her head in embarrassment from the times she decided to cut lessons to pull some 'minor' pranks on the village.

"Thank you so much, Kushina-san. This information is truly, if what was said in those scrolls, happens to be true are more valuable than a mountain of gold. You have the gratitude of a nation, thank you" Rune stated bowing his head as far as it could go. Kushina began to show a little pinker in her cheeks from all of the bowing Rune was giving her.

Coming back up, Rune takes a look at the sky. "It would appear that while I have obtained what I needed, I have taken some of your time. Perhaps it is time you returned to your husband. I am more than sure he is worried for your wellbeing"

"OH SWEET KAMI, MINATO!" Kushina began to panic while getting up quickly and leaving her mind but before that. "Rune-kun, please take care of yourself. You're bound to become a great shinobi and I cannot wait to meet you outside of my head. I might even let you treat me to some ramen. I'll see you soon, I promise" she gave a wink and vanishing in a bright light; waving a goodbye, Rune letup from his smile which began to turn into a small frown.

"I am sorry Kushina-san, but I do not believe I will ever be able to see you again" Rune said as he began walking to the altar that chains the Kyūbi no Kitsune. Upon reaching the altar, Kyūbi lets out a feral growl at least trying to intimidate the intruder.

**"What is it that you want **_**Human**_**, have your questions not been answered by my so called **_**Warden.**_** Or perhaps you decide to mock me as my **_**Warden **_**does every damn time I try to break free"** Kyūbi spoke with venom with when he refers to humans. Rune had not budged from his place. Silence was all that remained for several minutes before Kyūbi began to lose his temper. **"ANSWER ME **_**HUMAN**_**, WHY DO YOU CHOOSE TO REMAIN SILENT. YOU INSOLENT SACK OF FLE-"** the Yōko yelled before it was interrupted by Rune.

"I am merely surprised that you have chosen to remain silent during the exchange of words I shared with Kushina-san. Are you perhaps trying to figure out my purpose with searching for that bust or the reason why I chose to fight with Kushina, knowing that if I had continued then her child would have gotten involved, O Spirit of Curiosity and Misfortune?" as Rune stated before turning from the altar and walking away.

Kyūbi became rigid in his spot and wide eyed at the title that this child referred to him as. **"HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT TITLE?! NO HUMAN IN THIS ERA SHOULD HAVE THAT KNOWLEDGE?! WHAT ARE YOU?!" **Kyūbi began screaming at this thing that knows about its title that only one man ever gave it.

Rune halted in his walk and looked back at the Yōko from over his shoulder. "Perhaps another time, Kyūbi, for I do not believe that it is the proper time for answers. I hope that you can remain passive when it comes time for your next vessel. Until then, behave, Spirit of Curiosity and Misfortune" was all that was said when Rune Vanished in a flash of light.

After making sure that its warden and the intruder were no longer present, Kyūbi began to ponder out loud to itself. **"What is happening to the outside world, Father?"**

July 13, Morning Hospital Room

Minato was sitting in a chair next to Kushina who, to his relief, was gaining some color back to her face. Biwako Sarutobi, The Sandaimes wife, had assured him that his wife is merely exhausted either from stress of lack of sleep and that she should wake up in a few hours. That was thirteen hours ago and every nerve in his body is being shot from staying awake. Every twitch that Kushina makes was raising his hope that she will wake up seconds later only to stop moving and resume sleeping.

"Please, Kushina, please wake up so that I can be sure that you're safe. I'll scout the entire continent is search of Tsunade if she could wake you up that much quicker" Minato announced to no one in particular but just hopping that she would at least wake to his voice. When she didn't move, apart from her breathing, he laid his head on her stomach to hear the heartbeat of both Kushina and Naruto.

"Naruto, if you can hear, I need to tell you that your mother is in need of some help. I know that I am asking a lot from you, when we haven't even met yet, but I would really like to see your mothers beautiful eyes again. I know you can do it Naruto, you are my son after all" Minato said in a whisper so that his son, if by some miracle, heard him. He waited for a few more minutes, just listening to the steady beating of both hearts when he felt a kick from Naruto.

Minato then felt a few more kicks from Naruto until his son stopped. Shocked at what his just did, he looked to Kushinas face to see any change. Nothing had changed that beautiful sleeping face as before. He chuckled at the thought before leaning his head down once again to talk to Naruto, "it was a very good first try, Naruto. I am proud at what you can do". He began to feel the effects of sleep without the use of a soldier pill. He was starting to close his eyes when he heard someone call his.

"Mina…to" Kushina spoke in a wispy voice that would have gone unnoticed. Minato bolted right up to see those glimmering violet eyes. He smiled and finally felt the reassurance at seeing her well again. He got out of his chair to move close to her, grabbing her by the chin ever so gently as to not cause her any discomfort, and slowly taking her lips into his own. They remained like this for several seconds more until he broke away trying to catch his breath while Kushina had turned a lighter shade of red from her hair. '_He hasn't kissed me like that since our days as genin_' she thought blushing even more at one particular memory.

Minato smile just grows ever bigger with each second and says "I'm glad that you're alright. For future reference, please rely on me more. I want to make sure that you're safe all the time, even…in...Your…dreams" before his eyelids grew heavy and forcing him to sleep from his own worries right beside her.

Kushina was a little worried as to what happen during her time from blacking out to her husband's kiss. But now that she saw him with a smile on his face and sleeping soundly, all of her worries seem to melt away. She moves her left hand over his head and begins to stroke through the blond hairs. She then whispers to herself so as not to wake Minato up. "Jeez, what am I going to do with you?" Sighing, she continues talking to herself "well at least you know that I will always be here by your side, no matter what".

She then looks out the window to see all of Konoha beginning their day as she goes over the events that had transpired within her. '_I know we will meet again someday soon, Rune-kun. Of that is a promise of lifetime_' she smiles as she gets more comfortable to sleep with her husband for a few more hours.

**A/N: a great way to start a chapter. If you are having trouble picturing this world, go to my profile and click the link to have a better idea. Wish me luck on the next chapter of "FDTR".**


	2. A Lullabies Creation

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any other elements that I will use in this story. Those rights belong to Masashi Kishimoto and their proper owners.

Prologue Part 2: A Lullabies Creation

August 27, Early Morning (several weeks after the encounter with Rune)

Konohagakure, the Village Hidden in the Leaves, begins its day like any other. The stores begin to open for business for the day that is to come. In one part of the village, you could hear the scuffling of chopsticks hitting the ceramic bowl of one long red haired kunoichi devouring bowl after bowl of ramen. From her seat, the owner could see a blissful smile appearing on her face after finishing her 14th bowl.

"Aww, ramen truly is a gift from Kami-sama. It truly is a blessing to have you in the village, Teuchi-san" said Kushina while rubbing her stomach from the wonderful meal and also the satisfaction that Naruto was calm during their meal. From behind the counter were a twenty-four year old ramen maker and owner of the store "Ramen Ichiraku". Teuchi began to laugh at her for the complement.

"Hahahaha, oh…oh. If there is something to complement on, it is the fact that I get to see you every day. Your kid must truly be a glutton for ramen. I can't wait to meet him and serve him his first bowl, Hahahaha" as Teuchi began laughing at the thought of having another customer like Kushina in the later future. Kushina could only smile at the thought of bringing Naruto here with Minato for his first bowl. She then got an idea and continued to grin at it.

"Hey Teuchi-san, do you have a camera with you by any chance" Kushina asks hoping that he did. The ramen maker had to think of the last time he used one before it finally struck him.

"Yeah, I sure do. The last time that I used it though was when Ayame-chan was born though, so it might need to be cleaned up a bit. It should still work at the least, why?" he asks wondering what was going on her head. Her smile got even bigger and continued to speak "I was hoping to get a picture of Minato and me to start an album for when Naruto is born and was wondering if you could help. I also want to show him all the people that are going to be part of our lives. And that includes you too, so there is no way you are getting out of it". Her proclamation had startled Teuchi until he began to laugh heartedly.

"HAHAHAHA, that's a wonderful idea, Kushina-san. Just come by later today so I can fish out that old relic. It will be nice having a picture of both my best and future customers to show what they have to compete against. HAHAHAHA" Teuchi began laughing while still stirring the broth to make for today's ramen.

"Thanks so much, Teuchi-san. I'll see you later today with my husband for the picture and don't forget to bring Ayame-chan to. It's always a pleasure to see her" Kushina said while waving goodbye and heading to the park to get some peace from the previous month. From the time that she encountered Rune-kun within her mindscape, she has been digging up on anything to do Mito-sama and Kawa no Kuni. While her memory was never the best, she still retained some information about Kawa.

She knew that Kawa was one of the few smaller nations surrounding Hi no Kuni (Land of Fire) and the leading country in economics due to their rivers that flow from all of the nations to the three mountains that are said to contain gold deposits. They were also famous for their craftsmanship of boats on the rivers that could be said to travel around the Elemental Nations in a week's time. Their main product though is the water that comes from the river. It was believed, that due to the minerals within it, to rehydrate a man from the brink of death with just one drop. _'I wonder if the water was the reason that the First Daimyō looked so young. I should ask if Minato could get me some so I could try it'_ Kushina thought about the picture that Rune-kun showed her. She still pouts to this day about her beauty not being on pair with Kawa's First Daimyō.

As she continued her walk to the park, she thought about the discussion she had with her husband. He had asked why she was doing so much research on their neighbor country, but she only replied that Mito-sama had a friend there and wanted to know more about it. The explanation was odd and had many gaps, but there was nothing that he couldn't tell her that wasn't public knowledge already. He explained to the best of his ability to try and make sense for her to understand without having to repeat himself that one of their major partners is with Hi no Kuni and Kaze no Kuni (Land of Wind). From what she could understand from her husband's explanation, Kawa wanted no part of war that would happen between the Shinobi villages of Konohagakure and Sunagakure (Village Hidden in the Sand).

The First Daimyō of Kawa wanted to meet with Daimyō's of Hi and Kaze, as well as the Shodai Hokage and Shodai Kazekage to discuss a treaty among the three countries. They agreed to meet each other in Ga Tani (Moth Valley), the capital of Kawa. All parties discussed for several days to determine what would be required for this alliance. Kawa had agreed to support both countries with a trade alliance of their most abundant product, being water. With this, several villages within Kaze no Kuni would be able to maintain a steady life even within the desert regions. As for Hi no Kuni, Kawa agreed to supply them with some of their boats to allow passage along the river to increase their trade routes. And all that Kawa has asked for was for neither shinobi villages to fight among the surrounding borderline or within the country of Kawa. All parties agreed to the treaty that is now called 'Garasu no jōyaku' (Treaty of Glass) to signify the balance between the three countries.

Kushina was so lost in her thoughts about the accomplishments of one Daimyō that see did not notice that she had entered the park five minutes ago and was now walking straight into the lake.

Konoha Park, Late Morning-Early Afternoon

Along one of the benches that were being occupied, there sat a woman within her mid-twenties staring at the lake taking in the scenery. The woman has fair skin accompanied with long dark purple hair that went slightly past her waist and side bangs framing her face down to her shoulders. She is seen wearing the traditional Hyūga garb that is loose fitting in order to accommodate with her being five months pregnant with her first. This woman is known as Himiko Hyūga, the wife of the Hyūga Clan head, Hiashi Hyūga. Himiko was enjoying one of the few pleasures that she had when first coming to Konoha, watching the scenery before her.

Konoha Park was not a small by any means, for it was at least six acres wide in all direction with a lake being in the center. Surrounding the lake was a mixture of willow and camellia trees. Within the center of the lake stood one of the few natural treasures that Konoha held; The Yukinoyono tsurī (Tree of Snowy Night). This tree was one of the few oddities in Hi no Kuni because it is the only Kaya tree, that's bark, is of pure white, that still blossom during a moonless night. There is no other tree within any of the surrounding counties with this tree and was proclaims as a national treasure to be protected as stated be the Daimyō of Hi.

Himiko continued to stare at the scenery, "SPLASH" was the sound that forced her to look away to see what was happening. What she saw was a mixture of water with a mixture of red hair flying through the air. _'Is that a carp'_ Himiko thought while trying to get out of the bench to get a closer look. _'No, it's a person?!' _she clasped her hands over her mouth in shock and begins to make haste towards said person. When Himiko arrives, she sees that the person is woman with long red hair that could be compared with the camellia blossoms surrounding them. She approaches the flailing women to try and get the situation under control.

"Um…excuse me. But if you could please refrain from splashing around, you could see that the waters depth is only about two feet deep" Himiko stated as she tries to work up the courage to talk to said person. After a few seconds, the red head woman stops her flailing and looks around to see a woman with hair purple hair staring right at her with concern in her eyes.

Kushina blinks several times, trying to figure out had happened to her. Once all of her thoughts were sorted out, she stood up and walked out of the water. She then looked straight at the woman to at least ease her concern. "Heh…thank you for coming over and helping me there. Who knows how long I would have kept that up if you hadn't come along, ha?" Kushina laughs at herself for feeling like a klutz in front of a stranger. Himiko still had concern in her eyes as she was studying the red head for any form of discomfort.

"Yep, I'm totally fine without any bruises or broken bones, Eggplant" Kushina says with a smile to ease up on the awkwardness in the air. "E-e-e-e-eg-gg-gggppl-llant?!" was all that Himiko could stutter, before she slowly crouched down towards her knees in an attempt to hide herself. Once Kushina saw this, she began to wonder what just happened to the woman. She then started to panic when she heard the Stanger started sobbing from behind her knees. Kushina began to panic as to why the woman was crying and began to do the one thing that came to mind; apologize repetitively.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I don't know what I did but I'm sorry" Kushina began to speak quickly in an attempt to calm the crying woman. After a few minutes of sobbing and apologies, the crying stranger finally began to calm and retorted "H-h-how w-w-would…hic….you like it if…hic…someone were to call you…hic…names after food?" Himiko said after every sob. Kushina was wondering about the statement of what she was saying until she froze and paled at the end of the stranger's words.

'_Names…food…OH DEAR KAMI-SAMA! I just did what all those damn kids from back at the Academy use to do to me, straight in her face. Damn it, no amount of apologizing is going to fix this; before anything else I have to think of something to fix this problem and fast'_ Kushina thought franticly of a way to apologize, but came up with nothing. Well, none that wouldn't embarrass her to no end. She looked towards the woman and she was still sobbing, Kushina knew that _'that'_ was the only way to appease the situation. She sighed knowing that she will get laughed at, but hoping that this will do the trick.

Kushina approach the still crouching woman, and began to talk to her. "hey, let me tell you something that no one in the village will ever hear and only you are allowed to say without the repercussions" Kushina said, knowing that this will never be the end of her being called _'that'_ and not allowed to hit the person who said it. The woman had finally stopped sobbing and lifted her head to stare at the red haired woman.

Kushina sighed and said "when I was young, people always called me 'Tomato Head' because of my hair". She braced herself for the oncoming laughter and the humiliation, but all she heard was silence. She waited for what felt like an eternity until she looked backed at the woman who was staring at her with confusion. "Well, say something, laugh, make fun of me like everyone else used to" Kushina began to raise her voice to cover the hurt expression on her face she thought was coming.

"Why would I laugh at someone's misfortune? That's just mean and cruel. No one deserves that kind of treatment. And why would anyone make fun of your hair? I think it's a very pretty color, since it reminds me of the camellia blossoms around us" Himiko stated as she was pointing towards the trees that held said flowers by the lake. When Himiko looked backed, she saw that the red haired woman was staring at her as though she grew a second head. She began to feel a little self-conscious from the staring and began to worry when said red head didn't respond for a few minutes. She moved her hand across the front of her face "um…excuse me. Are you alright? Did I say something wrong?" she said in a way to get her attention.

The thought of someone not laughing at the name she was given was inconceivable, as well as having her hair complemented all in the same sentence just blew her away like an ant caught in a hurricane. The last time anyone else had complimented on her hair was Minato after the Kumo incident all those years ago. The only thing she could do after the few minutes of silence was laugh at the whole thing. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, OH…OH…my…my ribs. Oh kami, make it stop. HAHAHAHAHA…HAHA...Hahahaha…ha…" after the laughter finally stopped and got off the ground, now holding her now sore ribcage, she looks at the woman with a smile.

Himiko had no idea as to what had just transpired here, but at least she now knows that the red head was alright to be laughing. Every now and then she would giggle at the red heads laughter. It was starting to get infectious as she started to laugh, although not as loud as Kushina. When they have both ceased their laughter, Kushina spoke up first. "It would appear that there has been a misunderstanding between us. Forgive me and allow me to introduce myself. My name is Kushina Uzumaki-Namikaze" she said while extending her right hand out and placing her left hand on her stomach to sooth it from the laughter and checking on Naruto to see if he was fine.

Himiko, now getting a good view of the red head, saw that she was well in the final stages of pregnancy. She smiled and brought out her hand to embrace into her own. "Himiko Hyūga. It is a pleasure to meet you, Kushina-san" Himiko said while still holding Kushina's hand but also rubbing her slightly round stomach. Kushina caught on the small gesture of Himiko being pregnant, but what threw in a loop was her last name. _'Hyūga, that can't be right. The Hyūga Clan all have those white eyes, while she has lavender eyes with pupils in them…what were the Hyūga Clans Kekkei Genkai called again?'_ she thought while looking at Himiko to try and explain.

Himiko seeing the confusion and understanding what she was trying to figure out began to give her a little bit of her background. "As you can probable guess, I'm not related to the Hyūga Clan by blood but by marriage. I was originally from Cha no Kuni (Land of Tea) as a common house servant for the Daimyō. I believe I was around 14 at the time" Himiko said in a kind voice while looking at Kushina was paying attention trying to get into a comfortable seating arrangement. She always found stories to her liking; as it always paved a way to an alternate reality and she would pay attention to every detail, like when she had found a sealing jutsu that Mito-sama was working on to expand a storage seal. Kushina later altered it to make it exploded with paint whenever it was opened. Kushina had learned that day why the Mito-sama was feared across the Elemental Nations and never tried to pull a prank on her, ever again. Shivering at that memory, she brought her attention back to Himiko.

Himiko resumed "it wasn't until my sixteenth birthday that a group of Leaf shinobi came to the Daimyō's Castle for a mission to take care of some local bandits that were raiding a nearby village. That was the first time I saw him, his face showed a cold exterior but his eyes showed a form of emptiness that I had never seen before. And believe me, it wasn't the lack of pupils, I can assure you of that" the both began to laugh a little at the comment she made. "They were only there for a few days, but I couldn't get my mind off of him. Whenever he was on a break from his search for the bandits, he would always go to the nearest tree and begin thrusting his palms at the base. I would always just admire the stances he performed a few feet away to not be in the way. He never voiced that I was annoying him, so I assumed that I could stay. When it was time for him to leave to return home from their completed assignment, I escorted the Leaf shinobi to the front gate. When all goodbyes were said, the shinobi vanished in smoke and leaves. All except for him, who was just staring at me? At the time, I would always stutter when put into awkward positions. We remained at that position, when he finally spoke _'Why is it that you continue to stare. I don't understand what your motive is'_ and he activated is Kekkei Genkai as if he were trying to intimidate me and to a degree, it did work"

Himiko startled at the slight movement when Kushina shoot her hand up as an Academy student asking a question. "Yes Kushina-san?" Himiko asked not knowing what she could wish to know. Kushina took a breath "What is the Hyūga Clans Kekkei Genkai?" and waiting for her question to be answered. Himiko gave her a gentle smile and began the long and audacious history of the Hyūga Clans that the elders had stuffed into her for years. "Well, the Byakugan is a…"

Hokage Tower, Afternoon

Within the Hokage's Office, was a blonde haired Hokage quietly staring at the mountains of paper that appear to increase everyday with a horrid glare. _'I will get back at both Sarutobi-sama and Jiraiya-sensei for not preparing me for this. I would rather fight all the Kage in the _Elemental_ Nations at the same time then deal with this bane of time itself'_ Minato thought before finally hitting his head on his desk to try and relieve him of the stress. That only lasted seconds before a knock at the door interrupted his thought process. _'If that is anymore paperwork, I swear to Kami and the Shinigami that I will burn this entire tower to the ground from where it stands'_.

"Hokage-sama, Hyūga -sama is here to see you" said his secretary from behind his door. "Thank you, please see him in" Minato stated as he got back into his seat.

The doors opened, and a tall man with long black hair wearing a very traditional, loose fitting robe with a long-sleeved, brown haori. The only things that make him stand out are his featureless eyes and his fore head unmarked from the Hyūga Clans Curse Seal. Minato looks up to see Hiashi's stoic face, smiling that his old rival still wore the same face even to him.

"Hey Hiashi, still trying to keep the elders in line or have they finally run you ragged" the Hokage stated trying to get some reaction out of the 'steel wall' that stands before him. Hiashi merely looked up from his paper work to meet Minato in the eyes. "Forgive me, Hokage-sama, but I am trying to decide whether or not to force all of these Clan registration papers onto you or allow your secretary to resume her original task to bring more useless paperwork for you to sign" Hiashi said with a small smirk appearing on his face as the Hokage lost a lot of color from his accusation.

Minato began to stutter "Y-y-you wouldn't be that cruel. Even you have a heart under that steel covered face". Hiashi walked up to the desk and placed the papers down on them before returning his face to its original state. "Let's go for a walk, sometime out of this dreary place can do a lot for one's health; both physically and mentally" Hiashi stated before returning towards the door only to see that Minato was already waiting for him Smiling and saying "Hurry up Hiashi, the farther away we are the better".

Shaking his head at the theatrics his Hokage was showing, _'and this is the most feared man in Tsuchi no Kuni (Land of Earth) and Kaminari no Kuni (Land of Lightning). I wonder if every Kage feels the same way about paperwork'_. He pondered that idea as he made his way to walk with his old friend.

Konoha Park, Mid-Afternoon

"And that is the history and theory of the Byakugan" Himiko stated as a teacher giving a lesson. When she looked backed to Kushina, she saw that she was sleeping facing the sky. She sighed knowing full well that this was the most likely solution happening once she had finished. She couldn't really blame Kushina though, as she herself fell asleep for the first couple of lessons. She went over to her and shook her lightly to wake her. Kushina began to stir at the slight nudging from Himiko, finding that the history lesson really was a good way to fall asleep. She yawned, trying to give Himiko her full attention "sorry, I fell asleep when you got to around the theory of it and its proper use".

"That's quite alright; I remember having to go through this the first time. That was not much fun as I thought it was going to be. But back to the story, the answer I gave him to his question was a rather simple one. I told him the truth that I wish to understand the void that plagues his heart and clouds his eyes. He stood there in silence until he spoke once more saying _'you are an odd woman to see what was meant to be hidden'_ and then vanishing to catch up with the rest of his group. The next time I saw him wouldn't be for another few weeks when he was sent to be a messenger for the Hokage. He went back and forth from Hi and Cha, so I got to talk to him a lot" Himiko explained with a smile at the fond memories of him visiting Cha on more than his mission required.

"After a few years, he asked me to marry him and to return with him to his village. I know that it's not as extravagant as most girls that age would want, but every time I'm with him I feel as though I'm dancing" Himiko stands up from the ground and starts to do a few steps of a dance consisting of twirling around in circles and humming a few notes, losing herself in her youth. Kushina begins to blush at Himiko's explanation of her feelings, knowing the similar feeling she has with Minato.

When Himiko finally stopped dancing, she then realized what she just did and began to blush madly at having an audience. "I-I-I-I'm-m-m-m s-s-s-sorr-rrry, I should-dn't have done th-that" she began to stutter while slowly turning back to see Kushina's reaction. She was happy to see that Kushina was smiling and clapping at her little demonstration. "That was wonderful Himiko-san, what else can you do?" asked Kushina wanting to know more about her new friend.

At the question, Himiko began to hold her blush as she began "I'm not that great at dancing, really. The only thing that I believe can be considered good would have to be the song that I'm currently working on. But it is still in the planning stages and nowhere near being sung for anyone" she stated. Kushina really wanted hear this song, but if it wasn't done she couldn't do anything about. They sat for a few more minutes before she broke the silence with "maybe I could help you finish it. There is also something that I want you to do for me, if that is all right?" Kushina didn't know if her idea would work but she came this far, so she might as well go all the way.

Himiko was smiling the biggest smile she had ever produced, covering a quarter of her face, since the first time she was ever allowed to walk out of the Hyūga Compound without an escort. She nodded happily at having her friend help her. "yes, I would be happy to have your help in finishing this song, Kushina-san" Himiko said as she rushed back to her bench to pick up some supplies to work with and returned to sit next to Kushina.

After several hours of writing and erasing, twilight fell over the park when the two women finished their project. At around the same time, Minato and Hiashi were finishing their discussion on the possible outcomes that could happen in the later future regarding Kumo. As they continue to walk, Hiashi caught a glimpse of his wife with a red haired woman, which could only mean that she ran into Kushina sometime during the day. He looked back to Minato who kept walking not noticing anything out of the ordinary until Hiashi spoke. "Hokage-sama, might we have a detour from the main road. I believe that it might benefit us in the coming future to take this path" he stated as he pointed towards the trees just a few meters away from their wives. When Minato looked over, he saw his wife talking to a purple haired woman excitedly. He smirked at to what Hiashi was implying. "Alright Hiashi, we'll take this detour and see what happens" Minato says before vanishing towards the trees with Hiashi right behind him.

"It's done, it's finally done. Thank you so much Kushina-san. I could never have gotten this far without your help, thank you" Himiko said with glee in her voice. Kushina was now rubbing the back of her head from being praised. "No problem, Himiko-san. How about we both try singing it out as a duet to hear how it sounds" Kushina said wanting to hear how it was supposed to sound looking over it several times. The husbands were intrigued at to what they're wife's had done for the entire day.

"Alright Kushina-san, let's begin on my count. At three is when I'll begin, ready?" said Himiko.

"Ready" replied Kushina.

"Alright. 1, 2, 3…"

_Himiko: "Leaves from the Vine, Falling so slow._

_Kushina: "Like fragile, tiny shells, drifting in the foam._

_Himiko: "Little soldier boy, Come marching home"._

_Kushina: "And brave soldier boy, comes marching home"._

Minato and Hiashi were stunned that their wives are performing a duet to a song they have never heard of. They wanted to get closer to hear this once in a lifetime opportunity.

_Himiko_ _Kushina: "Leaves from the Vine, Falling so slow._

"_Like fragile, tiny shells, drifting in the foam._

"_Little soldier boy, Come marching home"._

"_And brave soldier boy, comes marching home"._

Kushina could only sing in alto while Himiko would sing in soprano, trying to balance out the melody to help support each other to the best of their abilities.

_Himiko Kushina: "Little soldier boy, Come marching home"._

"_And brave soldier boy, comes marching home"._

As they sung their final note, they heard clapping coming from the willow tree behind them. Startled from the surprise clapping and from the embarrassing moment she showed, Kushina began drawing kunai and shuriken. Seeing that he was about to be on the receiving end of Kushina's wrath, Minato began his desperate attempt to calm her.

"Kushina, I need you to calm down before you go and destroy another park. I can't keep signing papers stating that it was in self-defense against enemy shinobi again" Minato stated while cringing when a kunai struck the tree mere centimeters away from his throat. Now that Kushina had calmed down, she saw that her husband came to see her.

"Hi Honey" as both Kushina and Himiko said. Kushina was confused as to what Himiko just said while looking over to her, only to see that the Hyūga would be looking at the top of a tree.

"It would appear that even with all of my training, I can never hide from you, Himiko" stated as Hiashi jumped down from his position in the tree. "If a civilian such as myself can find you, then that would mean that you are taking a break from training. It is good that you are taking my advice and resting" she said smiling at her husband only to look confused at the other man that appeared to be the Yondaime Hokage.

Both women took several seconds before coming to the realization of the outcome.

"YOU'RE THE WIFE OF THE HYŪGA CLAN HEAD HIASHI" screamed Kushina.

"YOURE THE WIFE OF THE YONDAIME HOKAGE" yelled Himiko.

For several seconds they were blushing at the disrespect that both women appear to have shown towards each other. Both of them bend over to try and apologize, only to knock their heads into each other.

"BOINK"

"Owe owe owe owe owe that hurt" Kushina said before clutching her head from a growing bruise. She looked over to see that Himiko was in the same position as her. When she looked up, they stared at each other before breaking out in laughter at this entire situation. Even their husbands began to chuckle at it.

Once the laughing calmed down, Kushina remembered that she had another appointment that she had to keep. _'Well, since Minato is here and Himiko is with her husband…'_ Kushina thought before drawing the attention back to her "Come on; let's go get something to eat. Naruto keeps kicking and I haven't eaten all day".

"Yes, the little ones are our top priority. Do you have a place in mind, Kushina-san" Himiko asked knowing full well that her child would be hungry. Kushina then grabbed Himiko with her right hand while Minato with her left and made a mad dash towards her favorite restaurant. Hiashi only saw a dust cloud of his wife's former position before dashing towards the same direction they were heading.

Ramen Ichiraku, Evening

Teuchi had brought the camera out of storage as per Kushinas request and was now waiting for said red head. What he saw astounded him, coming from the distance dust cloud heading straight for his stand. He prepared for the oncoming collision only to feel nothing hitting him. When he looked up, he saw Kushina dragging two people, who appear to been knocked out, in both of her hands and the Hyūga Clan head coming up from the rear.

"Well isn't this a surprise, you came right on time and not only that, you brought company. Or should I say dragged, HAHAHAHA" Teuchi laughed at the reckless red head for her antics. "Well anyway, Kushina, I got that item you requested and I'm ready to take it whenever you are" Teuchi said while dragging out an old color camera and started setting up.

"A camera? Why would you want a camera, Kushina?" Minato asked while being moved to the location that she wanted him to be in. She did the same for both Hiashi and Himiko. All four of them were sitting at the bar right next to each other. From Teuchi's position, in the restaurant, Hiashi was on the far left with Himiko in the middle left. Minato took the far right with Kushina in the middle telling all of them to smile and in the case of Hiashi to lighten up. "Alright here we go. 1, 2, 3 'Snap'" a bright flash came from the camera.

"Alright, let's eat" as Kushina said before devouring her first bowl of the night. Himiko saw this and was amazed that in the few minutes, Kushina was already on her third bowl while she was still half way through her first. She stopped eating when her husband began to ask her husband a question "so, might I inquire as to what you two were singing at the park?" while putting down an empty bowl.

She smiled at him and answered "it was a lullaby for our children. Kushina and I both wanted to give our children something that they could remember. We had to change a few words, but it is a representation of us to give them hope. Something like that was what we were going for". Hiashi nodded at her explanation and the group continued their meal. Once everything was paid for and got their own pictures from Teuchi, they began their trips back home. When they were about to separate, Kushina had one last question for Himiko.

"Hey Himiko, I never got to ask this, but what is your child's name?" curious as to wonder what the gender of her child would be. While walking, Himiko looked back to Kushina while holding her stomach and saying her child's name. "Her name is…Hinata".

**A/N: Hey everyone, hope that everyone is enjoying the prologue. I'm going to add one more before I get this story under way. What do you think of 'Himiko Hyūga'? I wanted to give her a personality since there was not enough info on her. As for the song, I choose this so that I could make Kushina and Himiko appear to have a more motherly approach. Search "Leaves from the Vine" and you will understand why I choose this. And thank you all for reading so far.**


	3. The Night it All Began

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any other elements that I will use in this story. Those rights belong to Masashi Kishimoto and their proper owners.

Prologue: Part 3: The Night it All Began

October 9, 11:55 p.m. Secret Location Outside of Konoha

Night had fallen and the full moon continues to rise in the starless sky. During the last month, Konoha was relatively peaceful. The streets were filled with civilians and shinobi alike enjoying the peace that all of Konoha had strived to achieve from years of fighting and war. Several miles away from Konoha, within a blanket of trees from the surrounding forest was an underground building set up as a safe bunker in case of an upcoming attack. Surrounding the bunker was several high leveled ANBU patrolling the area from even the slightest disturbance. Within the bunker was the Yondaime Hokage, whose main purpose was to maintain and stabilize the seal containing the Kyūbi no Kitsune upon his wife's stomach. Biwako Sarutobi was there as the midwife along with her assistant Taji to oversee the child birth and to make sure that both the baby and mother were healthy. Finally, there was Kushina, after months of waiting was finally going to meet her soon to be son.

"AAHHHH!" was all Kushina could do from the time she went into labor several hours ago. Trying to maintain the seal while giving birth is the most difficult and life threatening experience any female jinchūriki could possibly do. _'Mito-sama once explained this to me once…but this is far worse than what she told me. Huff…huff…I…I have to keep going'_ she said to herself as to give another push before letting out another pain filled scream.

"KUSHINA" Minato began to worry and started to lose concentration on the seal to rush to her when Biwako stopped him. "Be quiet! You're the Yondaime Hokage, so stop being so terrified! If she were a man, she'd have long died from the pain! At least women are strong!" she stated before returning to her position to resume her duty to deliver the child safely. Minato bit his lip to contain his come back to the woman who had done so much for them. He turned back towards the seal and began to re-stabilize it. It was at the sound of wailing from a third voice that brought Minato out of his trance. "One more push and it will finally be over. You can do it, Kushina" said Taji while preparing her necessary tools for when the baby came.

At her final push, the clock struck midnight signifying that it has now become October 10th, the day of Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze came into the world. The pain finally receding, Kushina let her tears fall freely from her face. Minato was awe struck at seeing his son and says "I'm a Father today", wiping away tears from his eyes as he began to walk towards him only for Biwako, who was currently holding Naruto, to step to the side and looking straight at him. "Don't touch him. The mother sees him first" Biwako stated while walking past a pouting Minato and towards an exhausted Kushina to have the first view of Naruto.

Kushina was constantly huffing, trying to get air back into her lungs from the experience of child birth. She could hear Naruto still wailing, smiling that she could hear his voice. When Biwako showed up right next to her carrying him, Kushina turned her head slightly to have a better look. "Naruto" she said while gazing at the light blonde hairs on top of his head. His eyes were closed, but she could see his eyes later on. What drew her attention next was the whisker marks upon his cheeks. She figured that due to her containing a Bijū that maybe the offspring could inherit a physical trait from a Bijū. All that those whisker marks did was making him even cuter to her and said to him "I finally get to meet you".

Biwako took Naruto away to get cleaned up, while Minato came over to Kushina's side embracing her hand with his own. "You did it, Kushina. We finally get to meet Naruto. Are you holding up alright?" he asked concerned for her wellbeing. Kushina could only nod with her signature smile. "Yosh, I know you're still recovering but we should start sealing the Kyūbi back into yo-" "AAHHHH!" Minato turns around quickly from the scream only to see both Biwako and Taji dropping to the floor with their throats slashed open. When they hit they hit the floor, blood began to flow onto the stone flooring creating a pool of crimson. "Biwako-sama, Taji-san" was the last thing he said before casting his sights back towards the assailant. Minato could see that the assailant had on a simple black coat and hood. There were no other abnormalities he could distinguish except for the orange mask with a single eye hole.

"Yondaime Hokage Minato Namikaze, step away from the jinchūriki unless you wish to see this child's breath end in its first few minutes of life" the intruder stated coldly while holding Naruto in his right arm and a kunai in his left hovering over the baby. Minato sends a glare at him for holding his son hostage while thinking _'who the hell is this guy? How did he bypass the barrier and pass the ANBU? Damn it, Damn it, DAMN IT!'_

Kushina's seal began to act up, forcing seal formations to spread across her body at rapid speed causing her to cry out in pain. Minato hearing both his wife and son crying out became too preoccupied as to whom to go to first. So the best bet he could do was to stall for time by saying "Wait! Calm Down!"

"You're testing my patience and wasting my time" the intruder said before tossing the child into the air and going after him with the kunai thrusting right after. Kushina seeing this screaming in fear for her son being killed cried out "NARUTO!" Acting on instinct, Minato used his Hiraishin no Jutsu to catch Naruto before being impaled. When the intruder landed back on the ground, he brought his hands together to form the ram seal. "Well I must hand it to you; '_Yellow Flash'_ does fit you so well. But I have to wonder about the next one. Kai" the intruder said before releasing chakra. Minato catches a hissing noise coming from Naruto and widens at the only conclusion _'Explosive Tags?!'_

"MINATO" Kushina screams for the safety of her family. Minato uses the Hiraishin no Jutsu again to flee to a safe house before removing the cloth holding his son in a swift motion and rushing out the door. The explosion caught up with Minato and pushed several pieces of wood into his arms and legs, but still keeping Naruto safe. _'Alright, Naruto is safe. The masked guy was after Kushina and he managed to succeed in separating the both of us. I need to hurry'_ he thought before flashing to another safe house to keep his child safe. Once there, he put the now sleeping Naruto on the bed and pulling the covers over him, while saying "just sit tight Naruto. I got to go rescue your mother" before vanishing once more.

October 10, 12:14 a.m. Forrest Outside of Konoha (4 miles away)

"So, explain to me why you decided to take me from Mizu no Kuni (Land of Water) to Hi no Kuni. As lovely as this country is, I need to return to help my husband with the harvest back home and to take care of my son" said a relatively young woman. She had long black hair, pale skin and large, dark-brown eyes, a slender frame while short for her given age. Her name is Kyoko Yuki of the Yuki Clan. She wanted more answers from this child who appeared to her several weeks ago under the guise of a traveling blacksmith. He asked and even paid for the services of her husband's skill as a farmer to look at a spot of land near the capital of Hi claiming to expand the local products. Her husband agreed to it saying that it should only take a total of three weeks including the round trip back to Mizu.

When they arrived at the spot of land, her husband got to work immediately wanting to complete the job efficiently and quickly. The family had enjoyed their time near the capital and even bought some seeds that were hard to find in Mizu. It has been three days since arriving and they would be on the road returning home in the morning. She was preparing to go to bed when the owner of said land came in asking her to come with him for a small errand. She agreed because not only was the child providing them with the necessary payment and lodging, but also because he watched over her son when she couldn't even calms him down. She figured that this would be a small errand and could be done in a matter of minutes until he spoke _"forgive me for dragging you with me in the middle of the night, but I am in need of the __Yuki-onna (Snow Women) for the task ahead"_.

Her eyes grew at the accusation he had just proclaimed and pushed him out of the home and demanded him to take where ever he need her on the hope that her husband did not hear him. It was a few hours ago that it had happen and they were both looking at what is now Konoha. All she could see were the lights that the Hidden Village was enjoying the peace they have maintained and nothing more. Kyoko looked to the child to finally see him pointing towards the village. She rose her eyebrow at the gesture and looked back, only to be pushed back from a sudden gust of wind that threaten to remove even the tree from the ground while the child only said "And so it begins".

Regaining her composure, Kyoko looks before her to see the most horrifying creature she had ever laid eyes on. Its head could easily tower over the mountain that stood before it, the claws would render the earth as if it were a soaked parchment and the nine tails swaying about would only be imprinted into her mind from all the stories she had heard as a child. She couldn't even stop herself from trembling from the sheer might of chakra overflowing from it. She dropped down to the ground when the Kyūbi began its assault onto Konoha and looked back towards the child only for him to put his hands together to create the ram sign and said "Kai".

Once the smoke cleared, before her stood the same child, only now he was covered in a hooded coat covering his face with intricate silver chains on it. _'So this child used a Henge no Jutsu (Transformation) to hide is real appearance just to get close to my husband in order to get to me. But the real question is why?'_ Kyoko asked wondering about the events that are about to transpire tonight. Rune looked back to Kyoko to give her some understanding. "My name is Rune Taiyō and the reason as to why we are here is because I ran into a priestess of Oni no Kuni (Land of Demons) who was at the time visiting the Daimyō of Mizu. She said only three things to me and the first one has come true. _'The beast shall be released on the night of new life'_ was what she said before showing a terrified expression" he said before grabbing Kyoko's hand in order to steady her from the coming attack.

While viewing the village, the Kyūbi was swatting away shinobi left and right with its tails and spewing fire from its mouth. The flames were covering a portion of the village but only to be intercepted from several water attacks. The two had remained a safe distance from the flames but the next attack had Rune worried. A screeching sound was heard over the roar the Kyūbi was making and he felt the fluctuation of chakra beginning to spike to levels Rune had never felt before. "WE NEED TO MOVE TO A NEW LOCATION NOW?!" he screamed while dragging Kyoko who was beginning to stare at the large concentration of chakra being gathered. "W-w-w-hat is t-t-that!?" she stuttered while trying to run with Rune through the trees while he explained "A BIJŪDAMA (Tailed Beast Ball) BEING HELD BY A PISSED OFF BIJŪ! BRACE FOR IMPACT!"

As soon as the attack was fired, they both took cover for what was coming. When Rune looked back he swore he saw a small spec of white on top of the Yondaime's head. The next few seconds they waited only to sense that the attack wasn't coming. Once they got off the ground only to be pushed back down from a backlash that appeared from behind them. When Kyoko looked behind to see what had happened, she saw a blue dome rising from the tree line and heading towards the sky at an alarming rate. The attack head finally subsided and the two went on their way to a new location to view the Kyūbi.

12:37 a.m. Secret Location Outside of Konoha

Rune and Kyoko continue their running towards what Rune presumes to be a safe location. They come across several bodies of ANBU lying on the ground dead. Kyoko gasped at the number of corpse before losing her dinner. Once she had finished and cleaned up, she walked back towards rune for answers while looking paler than normal. "W-what is h-happening. Why is there a B-Bijū running around without being contained?" She looked at his covered face hoping to never face the Kitsune again, but his answer didn't seem to calm her down. "The only reason that I believe for Kyūbi's apparent release would be that something went wrong in the seal while the jinchūriki was giving birth to her child. However, the Yondaime was to oversee the sealing so nothing like this could happen. The only theory that I can make any sense of would be that a third party interfered in the process" Rune said with a sorrowful tone at the thought of Kushina dying from the extraction process.

From the position that they were at they could see a small red spec constantly moving from what they could assume to be the Kyūbi still thrashing around Konoha. Rune had allowed Kyoko to rest from the constant running while he viewed the continuing battle. He had to analyze the situation and to think of the reason as to why High Priestess of Oni would give him three sentences with no way to figure it out. _'Let's see if I can put something together from this mess. From what the priestess said, there was the process of inheriting fire and something to do with sleeping in ice. KAMI I HATE PROPHETS, THEY MAKE NO DAMN SENSE?!' _Rune thought before hitting the ground out of frustration. After several seconds of calming down, he continued to look at the destruction trying to figure what to do next. Kyoko came over at having enough time to rest and seeing Rune frustrated.

"It's going to be alright, Rune-kun. I'm not sure what is going to happen next, but I know for certain that this village Kage will think of something. After all, a Kage is to protect the people of his village, right?" Kyoko said with a smile trying to cheer him up. It worked to a degree when she saw the smile appear on his uncovered mouth only to see him tilting his head to the left. "Is it just me, or do you hear the sound of crying?" he said looking back towards Konoha only to see a toad in the center of it. Rune stares confusingly at the sudden appearance of a toad and the sudden shift of chakra coming a few meters away from them. As he turns around, he sees one of the Yondaime's special tri-pronged kunai and eyes widen at the thought that Kyoko just mentioned. _'That crazy Hokage is brin-'_his thoughts interrupted when both Rune and Kyoko staring at the eyes of the Kyūbi in front of them with its mouth closed.

'_SHIT!'_ "Kōton: Gurandoshīrudo" (Grand Shield). Performing seals and dragging Kyoko to his side, hoping that this jutsu can hold against a Bijūdama. From the ground came a steel shield of simple design of five feet wide and six feet tall with a thickness of eight inches. Trying to go up against a Bijū was crazy, but going up against one with nothing more than a shield is just plain suicide. Pumping the shield with at least half of his chakra reserves, Rune waits for the incoming attack.

The attack had made it and pushed the both of them several meters away but the shield was still holding on. This lasted for about three seconds before cracks appeared on the shield tearing it apart and began to chipping away. "AAHHHHH!" Kyoko screamed at the attacks intensity and heat hitting them. Frighten that his shield was failing, pumped more chakra into it praying to Kami for the attack to subside.

12:44 a.m. Shattered Shack Several Meters Away

Minato came from the rubble of the now destroyed safe house with both Kushina and Naruto in hand out of the direction of the Bijūdama. He looked back to see that the attack had indeed miss Konoha, but was surprised to see that something was still standing in the middle of the destruction. The structure began to crumble to the ground to his surprise once again to see a knocked out woman and another hooded figure with his hands still up. But from closer inspection revealed that his sleeves have been removed and his arms were severely burned from either a fast chakra output or the Kyūbi's attack.

'_What the hell is going on, first that character who claims to be Madara Uchiha and now another one shows up. But this one was able to at least hold back Kyūbi's attack from such a closed space, I can't let my guard up for a moment'_ he said readying his special kunai at the ready for anything. Kushina sensing her husband tensing up takes a look to see what was happening to be surprised that Rune was behind the disintegrating shield from the Bijūdama. She started to let lose a chuckle which in turn, coughed up blood. Minato caught this and try to ease his wife's pain as best he could.

"Huff…huff…your…huff…husband is a…crazy bastard….huff…to pull this off…huff" said Rune trying to catch his breath and not move from all the pain his arms were feeling. He looked towards Kyoko to see if she had sustained any damage. Luckily she had only escaped with several bruises and cuts only skin deep. He looks back to see a smiling Kushina and a confused Minato and says "well…huff…I suppose…that's why you…married him, huh."

"It's good to see you again Rune-kun. Did you find what you were looking for?" Kushina asked hoping that she at least helped someone. "I'm afraid not Kushina-san, at least not yet anyway. I got word of some troubling news and had to cancel my trip" he turns to look at Minato who was sending him a glare. "All you need to know is that I am not here to cause any harm to your wife, Yondaime Hokage. Before you go and label me as such, care to help me find a way to at least stop the Spirit of Curiosity and Misfortune" Rune said while picking Kyoko off the ground and moving her towards a safe location.

Minato was confused at the title that this gaki had given the Kyūbi and turned to his wife for any answer but got a confused look as well. "Explain this to me latter and help me set up a barrier" he said before shifting Naruto in his arms. Kushina nods and uses her chakra to create a barrier that surrounds all five humans and the Bijū. As soon as the barrier was stable, it was immediately attack from the outside by none other than the Sandaime Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi. Kushina looked at the old man but couldn't hear him. _'Sorry, Ojii-chan, but I don't think I'll be able to eat ramen with you anymore.' _She thought as she coughed up more blood.

Rune was trying to move his arms to see if he can put a soldier pill to help him from his chakra depletion. He was having a lot of difficulty, but he managed to pop it into his and cast a jutsu. "Kōton: Ōkami" (Howling God). He throws his hand down towards the ground and the earth begins to shift from the area and lava erupted from beneath his hand. Slowly using his chakra to lift the lava off the ground and began to shape it into the form of a ōdachi (long sword) of five feet with a square tip instead of pointed. Once the shape began to maintain its shape, Rune added water chakra to then create his new blade. There wasn't much material in the earth to create a scabbard for it but there will be plenty of time later if they live through this. "It's a bit of a rushed job, but it should hold for the time being" rune said to himself looking straight at the Kyūbi who began to snarl at him. He could also hear Minato and Kushina discussing something but he could only pick up bits and pieces of it, "…seal…half…forever…other…Naruto…"

By the shocked look on Kushinas face, this was not going to end well for anyone. Apparently whatever Minato suggested she was completely against it. He wanted to hear more, but Kyūbi decided that waiting would be bad for its self and began its assault once more. Kyūbi used its right hand to slash at the hooded human, for fear of what else he might know. Pushing chakra towards his legs, Rune jumps backwards in an attempt to avoid but the vacuum from the attack forced him to lose balance fall to the ground. The Bijū takes the opportunity to strike with its left claw at him. When the claw hit the ground, it shook the very earth while toppling the surrounding trees. When it pulled its claw out of the earth, the Kitsune could see that more than half of its paw was covered in weapons. It looked back down to see a small hole leading into the ground. **"You think I'll fall for such a simple trick, **_**Human**_**. Why don't you be like the rest of your kind and just DIE"** Kyūbi spoke before preparing another Bijūdama.

When the ball was half way formed, Kyūbi sensed an attack coming at both its sides. The Bijū crouched down and jumped towards the sky to evade the attack of both Rune's slash and Minato's Rasengan. _**'Damn you, Yondaime Hokage. He used that infernal jutsu to help that thing escape while it laid a visible trap to hold me back long enough for a pincer movement. DAMN IT' **_Kyūbi thought in rage. It landed on its paws only to be ensnared by Kushinas chains while its limbs were being encased by ice.

"**DAMN YOU!"** the Bijū roared loudly that it shook the very air around them while glaring at the Hokage who was performing several hands, (Snake, Boar, Ram, Rabbit, Dog, Rat, Bird, Horse, Snake) and finally clapping his hands together as if to pray. "Shiki Fūjin" (Reaper Death Seal). The atmosphere around them began to drop drastically at the presence of one deity. The Shinigami. The deity looks around to see the Kyūbi, its former jinchūriki, a Yuki clan's woman, the man who summoned it, and finally laid eyes on the child. The child, sensing something amiss, looks around only to see nothing. _'this almost feels as though I was back in Kushinas mind, but its more potent and ten times worse than what she could muster' _Rune thought before returning his sights on Kyūbi.

"**DAMN YOU, DAMN YOU, DAMN YOU YONDAIME HOKAGE!" **Kyūbi roared as he began to shrink in size while Minato began to pant from exhaustion. "Fūjin" was all he said while preparing an altar and placing Naruto on top of it. _**'The Ritual Altar? Does he plan to seal me again and inside the body of a baby?' **_Kyūbi seeing this begins to retaliate by using what is left of its chakra to form a Bijūdama. "Kōton: Hahira" (Pillar) a giant steel pillar rose from the ground hitting it in the chin and sending its head skyward. Upon losing concentration, the Kitsune released the attack and sending it out of harm's way while destroying several of Kushinas chains descending around all of them. Rune began falling to the ground from chakra exhaustion from having to stall the Bijū from interrupting the Hokage. He was caught by Kyoko to soften the landing.

Kushina tries to get up but falls back down and coughs up more blood. Minato sensing that his time was almost up rushes towards her. **"DIIEEE" **Kyūbi roared while simultaneously launching a final attack with its claw trying to impale the baby. Time seemed to stop for both Minato and Kushina as they both ran towards their son. The next thing anyone saw was blood spraying through the air from the impact. Before Rune, Kyoko and Hiruzen was Minato and Kushina being skewed by the Kyūbi's claw while stopping it mere inches away from Naruto.

While Rune was observing the events that are happening before him, he recalls the words from the second sentence from the priestess of Oni. _'An everlasting flame to light the coming generation'_ he thought while his body began performing hand signs while whispering "Yume no chūshutsu" (Extraction of Dreams). Two small lights floated out of both Kushina and Minato's chest. Kushina's light was colored red and Minatos was yellow. The red light floated towards Naruto and stayed there while the yellow one shot off into the night heading directly towards Konoha. _'What are these lights? Why was that yellow one heading towards Konoha? Am I still awake or am I daydreaming?'_ Rune thought while trying to see if that light was still there and caught a glimpse of it falling slowly into Naruto's chest. He could finally hear a conversation that had been going on.

"…hibition of women. I'm a woman, so I don't know much but all you need to know is that this world is made up of both" the one speaking was Kushina talking to a sleeping Naruto. She continued to speak, "I want you to find someone who is kind and is able to make you smile from any situation you will encounter. I know that your life will be difficult, filled with pain and suffering. But you must never lose your way." Kushina was starting to develop tears from the thought of never seeing him again. "Have a dream and the confidence to make that dream come true! There is so much…much…much more that I want to give you. I love you. I love you. I love you" she kept saying over and over knowing that he might not hear these words for a long time.

Minato slowly hugs her to sooth the pain of goodbyes. "Kushina…can we sing to Naruto that lullaby you and Himiko wrote. I think that it would be a good gift for his birthday" he said to a now crying Kushina. She could only nod for not trusting her voice at the moment. Minato continued talking, "well we start on the count of three. 1, 2, and 3…"

_Minato: "Leaves from the Vine, Falling so slow._

_Kushina: "Like fragile, tiny shells, drifting in the foam._

_Minato: "Little soldier boy, Come marching home"._

_Kushina: "And brave soldier boy, comes marching home"._

The Kyūbi's body was starting to vanish from being resealed in to its next host. Rune was feeling very tired from the nights event and was trying to figure out a way for both him and Kyoko to find a way out. Several chains were falling off due to the lack of control and their only way out. "Kyoko…we need to leave…now. I have one last thing that needs to be done before the night is through" Rune said in a very tired voice, sleep threatening to take over.

_Kushina Minato: "Leaves from the Vine, Falling so slow._

_"Like fragile, tiny shells, drifting in the foam._

_"Little soldier boy, Come marching home"._

_"And brave soldier boy, comes marching home"._

"Alright, but where do you need to go. This entire area will be filled with ANBU in less than thirty minutes at best?" Kyoko said while picking him up, his burned arms around her shoulders and began to run towards the forest. Rune then spoke "head towards the white…tree within the lake…that will be far enough."

_Kushina Minato: "Little soldier boy, Come marching home"._

"_And brave soldier boy, comes marching home"._

Once the last verse was sung, Kushina continued to cry openly and Minato performed the final hand sign to seal Kyūbi. These were his final words to his son. "I know you can do anything you put your heart into, Naruto. Always know that we will be proud of you for the path that you yourself have chosen. We love you, Naruto. Fūjin"

1:23 a.m. Konoha Park

Kyoko brought Rune to the area he had requested with some difficulty of avoiding the ANBU that were on high alert from the Kyūbi attack and in search of two mysterious shinobi that had appeared fighting along with the Yondaime to subjugate the Kitsune. "Alright, we're here. Now what is this 'errand' that you have nearly killed me to have it done" starting to lose her kind face from all of the danger she has had to put up with. Rune looks to her with a sad smile and begins to explain the last part of the warning from the Oni priestess. "She said _'Slumber in a cradle of Ice, for the Truth lies just beyond'_, I didn't understand the concept of ice until you used it on the Kyūbi. What I want you to do is perform a jutsu that will allow me sleep for a few years. That's all" Rune said showing her his smile to continue with this mad journey.

She went wide eye from the thought of using her Kekkei Genkai, let alone to use it one someone. She wanted to figure out another way before he interrupted her. "I know that I am asking for a lot, but look at it this way. There is no way I will be able to get out of Hi no Kuni in the shape that I'm in. I'll be captured and executed before sunrise. And I also heard an old rumor of the Yuki Clan creating a Kinjutsu (Forbidden Technique) to allow oneself to escape even time and preserve their youth?" he stated as he saw her eyes widen from his standpoint.

"it would appear that I no longer hold a choice if you are manipulating me to this extent, although in the long run, I should thank you" Kyoko said while smiling at the confused look that Rune was doing. She explained that there is a jutsu, but it can only preserve the body and put the mind in a 'death' like state for a few years. The reason it is a Kinjutsu is because once the jutsu is cast, the casters entire chakra network is all but obliterated, forcing the body to never mold chakra again. "Alright, I'll help you, but before I do, can you at least tell me why you would do this?" she asked hoping to get some form of answer.

"I guess…I'm doing this to save my country" he said looking at her with a frown while holding his arms close to his chest. She probably hit very sore spot with that topic and decided to drop it. "Alright, let's begin. Are you ready, Rune-kun?"

He nodded. She then performed a multitude of hand signs and then touched his chest. "Hyōton: Akuma no hitsugi" (Coffin of the Devil). Ice began to form around the hand until it expanded encasing Rune in a giant crystal of ice. The ice continued to drain her chakra to the point she had almost blacked out. After several minutes rolled by, Kyoko looked to see that was floating in the crystal as if he were asleep. The crystal was embedded into ground and she believed that it couldn't be moved without destroying the park. She then looked towards the tree and finally understanding why Rune choose this area.

'_He pick this park because not only was it open to the public, but it is under the protection of both the Hokage and the Daimyō. Even if the wanted to investigate, they would have to destroy a national treasure just to figure out how rune got there'_ she thought as she laughed a little at the cleverness he is showing at such a young age. She decided that now would be a good time to go back to her family, although it may be a bit difficult as she is now a civilian in every sense of the word. She smiled at the thought and gave on last look at the crystal, "thank you, Rune-kun. You have given me a chance to live freely without having to worry about Mizu's Civil War". She turned back around and started to head towards her family.

6:35 a.m. Konoha Park

Hiruzen Sarutobi now stood in front of the crystal that contained one of the two people who fought alongside the Yondaime. What he couldn't figure out is why he could not destroy this prison to get the child out. Even with Enma, the Monkey King, the prison would not even make a crack or dent. The sun was begining to rise and the citizens were going to want answers to what has happened. And the first thing they are going to ask is the whereabouts of their Hokage. He was already starting to form a head ache.

Looking down into his arms was a sleeping Naruto. How was he supposed to take care of a child with all of this happening? He looked back at the crystal and talked to himself. "I know you not from enemy or allies, but you had done a service to all of Konoha with the aide you have provided. I can only hope that when this jutsu finally release you, that you be the one to tell the story that has happened here to Naruto. He is the one who will need all the help that I want to give him". Hiruzen gave a slight bow of respect before making his way. Back to the destroyed Hokage Tower.

"_Let us Hope that Naruto will be able overcome the challenges that are too happen in the coming years, Sandaime Hokage. Let us Hope"._

**A/N: the Prologue is now complete. That was a lot of work but I hope you all enjoy it. I figured out and have started a Poll on who should be on Naruto's team. Just go to my Profile page and vote. I am deciding whether or not to start the story at the age of 7 or at the Academy. Hopefully I can get some ideas from you guys and girls. And remember, enjoy the story.**


	4. Ch 1: The Encounter

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any other elements that I will use in this story. Those rights belong to Masashi Kishimoto and their proper owners.

Chapter 1: The Encounter

? a.m. /p.m. Konohagakure, Dreamscape

Darkness, that is all that one can see from within this area. No matter which direction; left, right, front, behind, above and below there is only a black abyss. Within this dreamless land, there holds a child of bright hair, rolled up into a ball quietly sobbing. Surrounding the child were small red balls of light that spoke with cruelty and disgust towards the child.

"GET AWAY FROM ME, FILTH!"

"STAY AWAY FROM MY CHILD, DEMON!"

"WHY WON'T YOU JUST DIE, MONSTER!"

The balls of light continue to curse the child and the sobbing only continued to grow louder with every word spoken. After what felt like an eternity, the balls of light vanished and all was silent except from the crying child. When the child looked up, all he saw was a continuing darkness but in the vast distance was a glimmer of white light. Not wanting to go see what this was, the child remained in the spot from the previous encounter of the red lights.

Time continues onward with the child not moving a muscle and glaring at the light in the distance. Suddenly, the light took the shape of a marble and began to move slowly towards the child shedding more light revealing the child to be a boy. Seeing this, the boy remain in his position knowing all too well that no matter how far he ran, he could never out run the red lights; so what would be different from this white one? The boy continues to stare at the small ball of light, waiting for it to speak more curses at him. Once the ball finally reached him, it remained there in complete silence. Having enough of waiting, the boy screamed at the ball.

"WELL, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?! COME ON YOU STUPID LIGHT, JUST GO AHEAD AND YELL AT ME FOR WHAT EVER I DID, I DON'T CARE Anymore…" falling silent from his outburst to see the reaction if light. Nothing, the ball of light did not speak from the child's outburst. Soon afterwards, the boy began to feel the sensation of being pulled from the abyss and closed his eyes.

_"It is because you are not perfect…" _a voice whispered through the void and reached the boys ears. Hearing those words hurt him, turning his body away from the light to hide his face from it but the words were not as hurtful as he thought they would and waited for his body to wake fully. The voice continued to speak, _"Because you fail, you have the strength to get back up…"_ he turned around with a surprised look at the complement. _"Because I believe that's what true strength is…"_ the light began to glow vigorously until the entire abyss was engulfed in its light and the boy had to close his eyes from the intensity. The boy tried to see the ball of light, but what he saw was an outline of someone who was older than him. The outline showed no details and only a mouth could be seen on the body of a human as it continued to speak. _"I think that you are an incredibly strong person and I know you will reach your dream, Naruto-kun…" _the voice said with a smile upon its face before light began to radiate the world once more.

Naruto, the boy within the abyss, began to run towards this thing that gave him the one thing he desired…hope. The hope of someone actually being his friend, he continues to run towards it until he trips on his own feet and falls flat on his face. Still facing the ground, he begins to cry at not being able to see this figure until he feels a hand brushing the top of his head. Not wanting this feeling to disappear, he leaves his head on the ground and feels that he is about to awake. The last thing he could hear from the voice was _"I believe in you, Naruto-kun"_.

6:34 a.m. Konoha, Summer, Naruto's Bedroom (7 years after the Kyūbi Attack)

Jumping from fright, Naruto begins to pant from the dream he just had. Although still fuzzy from that experience, he brings his hand to wipe off the sweat from his brow. _'What was that? I know I have strange dreams but that was beyond weird. Maybe I should stop eating ramen before bed…'_ he thought before shaking his head from that peculiar thought of not having ramen. Having calmed down, decided to get out of his bed to begin his daily morning routines for the day. First thing on the agenda was to open the window and yell out "HELLO KONOHA, NARUTO UZUMAKI IS AWAKE! I'M GOING TO BE HOKAGE!"

"SHUT THE HELL UP, YOU STUPID BRAT" said one of the neighbors from across the street. Naruto seeing the old man sticks out his tongue out and closes the window. He then walks out towards the kitchen where his teapot was. He then began starting to make breakfast; two cups of ramen and a glass of milk (slightly expired). After the agonizing three minutes of having the ramen cooked, Naruto sat down at the table and began his meal. Once he finished devouring his meal, he walked over towards his room and looked in the draws to see if there were any clean clothes.

Now being a seven year old and having no washing machine, Naruto made his way over to the ever growing pile of dirty clothes in the corner of the room. Picking up a brown shirt with a white spiral on the front and checking to see how dirty it was. Deciding that it was alright put it on along with his black pants. After looking over to see if everything was alright, he nodded to himself and headed to the front door. "Alright, what should I do today? Switch out the sugar with salt at the bakery or should I go to ANBU HQ and turn their uniforms pink? Hehehe, maybe I should do both but first I want to see Ojii-san to have him explain what I felt this morning" he said while jumping off the last step. Once looking to see that there were not that many people in the street, Naruto began to run towards the Hokage tower.

Konoha had not changed as much during the last seven years of reconstruction. The homes that were destroyed were rebuilt within several weeks and trade resumed during that time and Konoha had continued to remain in peace of sorts, but they continue to grieve for the loss of friends and family during that horrid night. The most noticeable change would have to be that their Sandaime has returned to the seat since the death of the Yondaime. There haven't been any major incidents, except for the Kumogakure incident where they tried to kidnap the heiress of the Hyūga clan. Their mission failed and due to the Sandaimes political persuading, Konoha was able to bypass another war. Overall, everything was going at a slugs pace, but they were returning to their peaceful lives.

After several minutes of running, Naruto enters the tower and starts his climb of the stairs towards the Hokages office. He sees several glares heading towards but tries to ignore them and shows them the biggest grin he could make on his face. "OI, Ojii-san, open up. Let me in, I want to see you" Naruto yells while banging at the oak doors. "Sigh… come on in Naruto, the door is open" a tired Hokage said and Naruto walks in. in the seat with a lit pipe, was a light-skinned man of below-average stature with grey hair. This man is Hiruzen Sarutobi, the reinstated Hokage of Konoha. To his side was the hat that Naruto continues to stare at indicating it to be the Kage Hat and symbol of his dream. Upon seeing Naruto staring at his hat, he let out a light chuckle at the action.

"He, he, he…it is always good to see you Naruto. But I do not usually see you until drag you to my office kicking and screaming from doing one of your more 'infamous' pranks in the late afternoon. Might I ask as to the visit so early in the morning?" Hiruzen said with a bit of concern knowing that if Naruto went out of his way to come to his office could only mean trouble for the child from one of the villagers. "that's just it Ojii-san, I wanted to ask you what dreams are, cause last night I had a weird one" said an energetic blonde jumping towards the desk trying to reach the hat. Seeing this was nothing as serious as he first thought, grabs his hat and places it on Naruto's head while smiling.

"well then, how about we take a walk towards a place that I haven't been to for a while and I'll try to explain what you saw in that dream. Is that alright with you, Naruto?" the Sandaime asked and received his answer with Naruto holding the Hokage hat over his head with a big smile. They both made their way out of the office and headed towards one of the few places that Sarutobi goes to when he wishes to have questions answered; the park.

7:57 a.m. Konoha Park, Path near the Lake

Upon entering the park with Naruto while discussing the various pranks he had done over the last time he had seen the child, Hiruzen senses a familiar chakra and becomes weary and takes precaution from that point while looking at Naruto. "Naruto, from here on you are not to speak to anyone and to remain by my side at all times. Do not under any circumstances leave my side, is that understood" the Sandaime said while giving him a blank stare in a serious tone. Naruto could only nod at the comment, knowing that when the Hokage used that tone, it would only mean trouble if he didn't obey. They continued their walk towards the center of the park. Once they had arrived, Naruto could see that there was no one in the park at this time except for some old man standing in front of a giant crystal.

Naruto had never been into this park because all of the parents would either chase him away or block him from entering, so he was excited to finally come here. Even if it was early, he had always wondered what was in here. So when the Sandaime gave him that warning, Naruto feared that it was the villagers coming to kick him out again. But when he looked around only to see that there was one old man that he hadn't seen before in the park, he relaxed a little. He stayed by the Sandaimes side the whole time while they began to walk towards the old man and the strange rock.

Danzō Shimura, one of the few council members and old rival of Hiruzen Sarutobi was standing before the ice crystal that now harbors one of the few people that were present during the Kyūbi attack. He appeared as a frail, old man, who would normally walk with a cane. He had black, shaggy hair, his right eye was bandaged and a cross-shaped scar on his chin ever since his youth. Danzō wore a white shirt, with a black and dark grey robe over the top of it covering from his feet, to just over his right shoulder. Every so often, he would come down to this ice crystal to see if there was any way to extract the child within this prison. He has had no such luck for the past seven years as any form of extraction would only prove to be fatal for the Yukinoyono tsurī. As much as he would want to study this ice, he would never purposely destroy a piece of Konoha history. He sensed Hiruzen coming towards him, so Danzō prepared himself for the encounter. "Hiruzen, it is quite the surprise to run into each other out here. Did you have need of me for something?" he said while glancing at Naruto for a few seconds before returning his gaze towards the Hokage.

"No, there is nothing urgent from the council. I have just finished some paper work earlier than I first thought and decided to take a short break with Naruto-kun here at the park" Hiruzen stated while placing a hand on Naruto's shoulder and bringing him closer. The blonde complied with the gesture while trying to stay out of the old man's sight. Once the conversation ceased Danzō, after staring down at his old rival, turns his glare back towards the ice crystal. "What secrets that this child holds, that he would go to such lengths to ensure his own protection. In some way it would be deemed as admirable, but if Konoha cannot know his reasoning, he will remain in in either ice or irons. Please enjoy your given break, Hokage-sama" where the last words Danzō spoke before walking away.

Checking to make sure that Danzō had indeed left, along with an 'unwanted' guest, he let out a breath he did not know he had. He looked down at Naruto with a smile and said "alright Naruto, you can speak again…Naruto?" Hiruzen watched Naruto walking towards the ice prison that contained the mysterious child. Once Naruto got close, he could see that the black spot in the crystal was a person and looked back and said "Hey, Ojii-san, why is there a person in this giant rock?"

"He, he, sorry Naruto but that is not rock but a very complex jutsu from what I would believe to be from a Hyōton Kekkei Genkai, although I'm not sure whether he was the one who performed the jutsu or someone else." The Hokage said laughing at Naruto's pouting face from not knowing the difference from a crystal and frozen water. Looking back at the statue, Hiruzen could see that not even after seven years has the ice melted. "I believe that this is a good example of a dream" he said to a confused Naruto.

The blonde looked back to the statue to see a person holding their legs with their arms, floating within the ice. _'This is a dream, but it's just a statue of someone. Why would Ojii-san bring me here to explain about dreams?'_ thought Naruto while catching a glance at several white lilies at the base of the statue. "But Ojii-san, you told me that a dream is a goal that everyone works to get to, so why is this statue a dream?" said a very confused Naruto holding his head from a headache. He looked backed up to see the old Hokage's face showing all the wrinkles it now had along with a sorrowful expression.

The Sandaime brought his hands together slowly with a clap as if praying. Naruto sees the hand sign and gets starry eyed seeing that maybe the old Hokage would teach him a jutsu, but he didn't see any flashy jutsu. Naruto turned back to stare at the black figure and asked "so who is the guy in the ice then Ojii-san?" Hiruzen began talking, "what I said to you before was true, Naruto, but as there are also those who have achieved their goals and continue to strive to maintain their dreams. Perhaps the reason he froze himself was so that he could see what his dream has become. That would be the answer for your first question and as for your second; I can honestly say that I do not know. He showed up on the night the Kyūbi attacked and helped the Yondaime put an end to it. Once that was done, he vanished. If you look at his arms, you can see the burn marks he received from that battle" he pointed towards the sleeveless arms where one could faintly see patches of red running up and down his arms.

Naruto had always looked up to the Yondaime ever since the Sandaime told him the stories to help him sleep. Being the energetic kid he is, decided to do something unpredictable and said "well what are we waiting for, let's get him out. He's one of the people who help save Konoha, so we should help him". He then began to punch the ice as quickly as he could, but after several minutes tired him out. Flopping on the ground panting heavily, the blonde kid looked up to see if there was any progress only to see that not even a crack showed on the surface. Hiruzen seeing this act shook his head slightly kneeled down to the ground next to Naruto and explained "you can punch and kick at the ice for weeks, Naruto, but not even the Uchiha Clan could melt this statue. Even I took a whack at it and not even a spec of ice came off. Whatever jutsu this is, it was meant as a last resort defense to protect himself from someone."

They both stayed on the ground looking at the statue with different expressions; Hiruzen had on a small frown at the sacrifice that this child did for Konoha and could not repay him while Naruto had on a fierce grin at the challenge presented before him. "Well, if this guy could achieve his dream then so can I. I'm going to be the Hokage, no doubt about it" Naruto said before finally getting his breathing under control. The Sandaime could only smile at the child before looking towards the sky to get a reading of the suns position. "It seems that we have been here for longer than I thought. I need to get back to work. Are you going to be okay by yourself?" the Hokage asked while Naruto smiled and nodded saying "yea, I'll be fine. I just want to keep trying to break the ice and get that guy out". Once said, Naruto continued his routine of punching and kicks. Seeing this, Hiruzen got off the ground and headed towards the exit but was stopped by Naruto's outburst. "Wait Ojii-san, you didn't tell me what that dream I had when I saw this big light thing saying nice stuff to me meant?" Naruto asked.

Hiruzen looked back and gave him a smile while talking. "Maybe it was someone who you are going to meet sometime in your life. When you do meet them, never let them go, for they will be your greatest strength" he said before continuing his walk towards the tower housing the bane of all Kages. Once he had left the entrance, he raised his left hand performing a waving motion to instruct his ANBU to surround the area so that nothing unexpected could happen to the blonde boy.

11:39 a.m. Konoha Park, Statue of Ice near the Lake

After several hours of intense training while trying to break the ice with no progress, Naruto decided to take a break and get some ramen for lunch. Luckily enough for him that not many people came to the park until the afternoon, so he had the entire park to himself since he couldn't go to the training grounds yet. When he was halfway to the exit, Naruto could see some kids standing in a circle around another kid who was on the ground. It was faint, but he could hear three kids saying something like "Hyūga…think…they're…better…apologize" and the scuffling of feet kicking something. Naruto knew all too well what that sound and began to get mad. He didn't know what to do though, since he was out numbered three to one. He tries to remember what to do in this type of situation but only got a headache and choose his instincts above all else: charge head on.

Once he got behind the three bullies, he spoke up to get their attention towards himself instead of the one on the ground. "Quit it!" Naruto yelled out and got their attention while also gaining the attention of the one on the ground. "And who might you be?" said one of the older kids in the middle, then the kid on the left said "OH, he's that! That good-for-nothing that everyone hates for always causing trouble." "Oh that" the last kid said before all three of them began to laugh at the blonde. Their laughing was interrupted when Naruto spoke up "I'm not that. I'm Naruto Uzumaki, the future Hokage. Remember it" he said with all of the confidence inside of him.

"Hokage?" all three said before another round of laughter took over. They continued to spout out words such as "An idiot like you, being Hokage. Now that's stupid." "A brat like you can never become one" while they were punching Naruto in the face and watching him go down. The one who was bullied continued to watch in horror at the one person who came to her rescue. Her pupil less eyes widen when she saw that the blonde child, who the elders at her home stated was 'Kyūbi', got back up with blood dripping down his face. _'Why, why do you continue to get up? P-please, please just run away. I don't want anyone to get hurt because of me'_ she thought while holding back tears at the blood dripping down his face while still holding a smug grin on his face.

"You know, you're just as stupid as that dullard whose got trapped in that block of ice. I hear my dad says that he isn't even part of the village and only came to Konoha for work in the fields. Some people say that he helped fought alongside the Yondaime, but that's a bunch of crap. He's no hero, he's a-" the kid did not finish that sentence from being dragged down and punched in the face by an enraged Naruto. For Naruto, it was one thing to call anyone names but to stomp on another's dream was one of the few things that he would not allow to happen. "Make fun of me all you want, but I won't let you trample on the dreams of those who worked for them! I definitely will become Hokage, and show up people like you!" Naruto said with fierce eyes while still punching the kid with his left fist.

She remained in the same spot, watching the blonde fighting the three bullies that were but a few minutes ago beating on her. "…ease…top…" she whispered, hoping that they could hear her. The two other kids finally dragged Naruto off of their friend and started to beat him into the ground. Seeing this, her tears were starting to fall when she spoke up once more "P-p-p-p-pleass-sse s-s-s-s-s-sto-o-op-p". She said in her normal stuttering voice while still watching this one-sided fight. Not wanting to see this anymore, she reached for all of her strength and yelled "STTOOOP IITTT!"

"HINATA-SAMA!" her attendant yelled after finally having locating her and started to run towards her. Upon arriving, he uses his clans Byakugan to see what is happening only to see that three children were beating up on a blonde kid while Hinata was crying for it to stop. Kō, Hinata's caretaker, began to add chakra towards his feet for speed to end this childish brawl. When he finally got there, the three children had run off from his earlier yell. He now could see that the blonde child was none other than the Uzumaki who everyone scorns. Having strict orders to return Hinata to the compound from Hiashi, he walks towards her and looks over her to see if she had any injuries. "Hinata-sama, are you alright?" he said while grabbing her hand as she nodded. Kō then proceeded to walk away with her when she let go of his hand and said "I c-can't just l-leave him l-like this, he h-helped me." Hinata then ran back to the downed blonde to check if he was alright. Seeing this, Kō began to curse to himself knowing that Hinata took her late mothers personality to help anyone. "Two minutes, and I must bring you back to your father" he said while leaning against a tree counting the seconds go by.

Hinata kneeled down on the ground and pulled out some medicinal cream to apply to his cuts. There were so many bruises on his face that he may have passed out from the pain. Once she cleaned up all of his blood as best she could, she looked over every detail of her rescuer. He had blond, spiky hair and from her before the fight she could remember that he has blue eyes that could be described as a clear open sky. She silently stroked his head to get a feel of it to see if there were any bruises on his head that she could have missed. She looked back to see that Kō was coming over indicating that two minutes were over. She pulled out a white lily that she had placed at the ice statue that morning on Naruto's chest and ran over towards Kō. "alright, he should be f-fine but I w-would like to t-thank him" she stuttered before Kō began to walk her back to the compound.

4:06 p.m. Konoha Park, Forest Area

"Ow, ow, why am I so sore" a groggy Naruto got off the ground feeling that is muscles were sore and remembering that brawl he had with those bullies. While he was trying to get up, his hand brushes against a flower at his side. Picking it up to examine it, he sees that it was one of the flowers that were at the base of the ice statue. "I wonder if it was that person who was being bullied who left it for me" Naruto smiling at the thought of someone actually being nice to him. He then thinks to himself _'I wish I got a better look at them though. I can only remember that they had pale eyes. Maybe I'll see them at the Ninja Academy if they decide to be shinobi'_ and then was interrupted by his growling stomach. Scratching the back of his head at the action, got off the ground and made a dash for his favorite restaurant while still holding onto the white lily.

When the park was completely empty, the light from the late afternoon sun shined on the ice to create a variety of colors. *CRACK* was the sound that resonated around the area. The statue remained in the same position as always, but it now had a two foot crack in the center of it. Undisturbed from the sudden change, Rune continues to sleep in the cradle of ice.

**A/N: Hey everyone, hope that you like this chapter. I decided to start Naruto at the age of seven and work on the bonds for later chapters. Still need an idea who his third teammate and sensei are going to be. If no one votes, then I guess I'll go with my idea. And a little advertisement, read "The Element of Time" by rasEnshur1Ken. It is a great story with a lot of action. And thank you all for reading FDTR. I will get the next chapter as soon as I can. Keep reading.**


	5. Ch 2: The Day of a Teacher

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any other elements that I will use in this story. Those rights belong to Masashi Kishimoto and their proper owners.

Chapter 2: The Day of a Teacher

7:11 a.m., Konoha, Residential District (Day after the Encounter)

A man of average height and build was gathering his supplies together while heading out the door of his home. He has brown hair that he keeps in a ponytail, dark eyes and a scar that runs across the bridge of his nose which he has had since his youth. He wears the standard Konoha shinobi outfit complete with forehead protector, sandals, and flak jacket. His sleeves are also rolled up about ¼ towards his elbows. This man is a new Academy teacher by the name of Iruka Umino.

"I should have everything done before the new students come in this year. I should probably go to the Hokage and get the rooster for this year's students" he said out loud while putting his last file in the folder and jumping to the rooftops heading towards the tower. The sun was peeking over the clouds that covered Konoha this morning. He let out chuckle thinking about how the Nara Clan will spend the day. He was about to pass Konoha parks entrance when he felt a small amounts of chakra in the air was slowly moving towards the center of the park. _'What on earth…this can't be good. I better check it out before anything else'_ Iruka thought while placing his items down at the base of the entrance and ran towards the center.

Upon arriving on top of the lake, he looked around to see if anything had changed. Nothing was destroyed, the sacred Yukinoyono tsurī still stood with no other description of being harmed. He then made his way to the Ice Statue but what he saw left him not moving from where he stood. His hands began to shake from what he was seeing; there was a crack in the statue. "I n-need to inform the Hokage immediately" Iruka said in shock before sprinting towards the tower with due hast. He kept trying to keep his cool, but the mere thought of the statue breaking overwhelmed him.

Several minutes have passed until Iruka finally arrived at the Hokage tower and jumped to the window. Pushing the window open and yelling "Hokage-sama, the statue in the park has…uh". Iruka was staring at several members of the civilian council who were having a discussion with the Hokage about several trading contracts that need to be updated. Seeing the tension that was now shifting towards him began to sweat at the pressure until his Hokage saved him from the glares. "What about the statue, Iruka-san. If you came to report that it has been vandalized again, and then please fill out a mission report to have several Genin clean up the park. Now then, about this document…" Hiruzen stated before returning his attention back to the civilian council. The Chūnin became more nervous at what he was about to say next, "but Hokage-sama, the statue has a crack in the center of it" in a whisper.

The room fell silent at that statement for no one dared to speak at what was said. *Clang* everyone turned to see that the Hokages pipe had fallen from his hand and onto the floor with a terrified look on his wrinkled face. While trying to regaining his composure, he looks to the council to lessen the tension. "It would seem that something more important has come up. We will have to reschedule this meeting another time this week, sorry for the sudden change but this is for the safety of the village" the Hokage stated as the civilian council exited out of his office. Once everything had calmed down, Hiruzen sent a glare at the Chūnin and asked "what do you mean that the Statue has a crack in it. I was in the park just yesterday and there were no indications of any progress of the ice melting. Explain what you saw, Iruka".

Iruka gulped at the KI coming from the Hokage and explained what he had seen at the park. "W-well H-Hokage-sama, I was on my way here when I sensed chakra moving in the air heading towards the park. Acting on the odd movement of chakra, I made my way to the direction the chakra was heading" he stated catching his breath while waiting for the Sandaime to process the information. Hiruzen picked his pipe off the ground and began to clean it and instructed Iruka to continue. "Upon arriving at the last location I could trace, I was at the center of the park. I surveyed the area to see if there was anyone there and coming up with no one. I continued my search by observing both the Yukinoyono tsurī and statue. No harm was brought to the tree but the statue now holds a two foot crack in the center in a diagonal fashion. From the previous files of past attempts to release/extract the statue, all attempts have proven to be a failure. So upon seeing this, I rushed back here to inform you of it" he said with lost breath from his explanation.

"Crow" Hiruzen yelled out scaring the young Chūnin. Seconds later, a small ANBU with a tan coat appeared in the office kneeled down on the floor facing the Hokage. When he lifted his head, he showed that he was wearing a crow mask over his face and asked "Yes, Hokage-sama". Hiruzen looked towards the ANBU captain who awaited orders. "Have a squad investigate the statue and report to me what you find. If there is someone in the village that is able to make that amount of damage without being found out, then they must be captured immediately. GO." He said and Crow vanished in a cloud of leaves. Looking back at Iruka, Hiruzen decides to put more Tabaco in his pipe to ease his stress while letting up on his stare. "Thank you Iruka for informing me of this. That statue is considered an A-class treasure and if someone was able to make any form of attempt to destroy it, it could only mean one of two things" he shared while looking at the confused Chūnin.

Hiruzen began to explain his words with "There are two theories that the Shinobi Council, including myself, have come up with. The first would be that due to the severe injuries that the child had could not escape the ANBU and prepared himself a last minute defense in order to escape confinement and from the civilian council at that time, execution under a baseless assumption that he came from an enemy nation to attack Konoha". Letting out a puff of smoke, Hiruzen looks at Iruka with sad eyes before lowering his head onto his hands. Seeing this action worried the young Chūnin as to why the Hokage would look like he had just buried another one of his shinobi before the Hokage continued. "The second theory was that the child was escaping from enemy nations and came into Hi no Kuni by sheer coincidence during that the attack. But from my perspective, that child was nothing more than a strategic tactic to allow the Yondaime enough time to ensure that the sealing was complete. From the time he vanished to being discovered in the park remains only known to him. I honestly hope that it is the second theory so as not to take the life of a child who may have served the protection of an entire village" he said with so much sorrow of going over this theory with several clans and their input of what will happen when the ice does melt.

Iruka, who was looking out at the window to collect his thoughts on what has happened, _'to be able to not only fight with the Yondaime against a Bijū, but to also have the determination to freeze himself for some unknown purpose. There has to be something that is missing from this, but what is the real question' _he thought before trying to come up with several scenarios. Both of them remained in utter silence before a knock at the door brought them back. "Enter" the Sandaime stated waiting to see who it was. The doors open and an eighteen year old Chūnin with white hair in a bandana walked in. "Ah Mizuki, welcome. Iruka, we shall finish this discussion another time. As for now, isn't it time to go over the applicants for the Academy students?" Hiruzen asked before seeing Iruka looking franticly around the room. He began to chuckle at the act before him, the Hokage decided to play on this by saying "is there something wrong, Iruka" while maintaining his smile.

Looking back at his leader, Iruka scratched the back of his head while coming up with some excuse for making a fool of himself. "W-well, Hokage-sama, it would appear that I left my materials at the park while…uh…enjoying the scenery, he he" stated the now embarrassed Chūnin while not to divulge too much info to Mizuki. He is Iruka's friend, but ever since Tsubaki, a girl who had been dating Mizuki for some time, came to him saying if there was something wrong with Mizuki. Iruka didn't think too much on it because of their friendship, but lately every now and then he would see this look that appeared on Mizuki's face. It wasn't anger or anything like it, but when he asked about it, Mizuki would just play it off like it was a facial tick. Iruka believed him and hadn't questioned about it ever since, but whenever something important came up with the village, Mizuki would arrive several seconds afterward claiming to look for his sensei. _'I'm sorry for doubting you my friend but I do not believe that this is something we should get caught up in' _"anyway, please begin the assignments while I run and retrieve them Hokage-sama, Mizuki-san" Iruka said before leaving through the door and making his way to the park.

Blinking at the sudden change in atmosphere, Mizuki looked back at Hiruzen for an explanation. "Could you explain to me as to what just happened, Hokage–sama? It's not like Iruka to just leave his materials in the park knowing about the meeting that we have today" he said looking with interest at the answer he would be given. Hiruzen sighed while taking another puff from his pipe. "It was nothing of importance, just seeing if Iruka was ready to become a teacher. As it turns out, he has a lot to learn but I'm sure that he is more than ready, he's just a bit nervous at the change of positions" he said while eyeing Mizuki. He just nodded at the explanation while preparing some papers while waiting for Iruka to return. After ten minutes passed, the scarred Chūnin had finally arrived and the three of them began their meeting for the new school year and new Academy students.

12:01 p.m. Open Road towards Konohagakure (73 miles away)

"And that is the plan. If there are no other questions…" said one of the three Takigakure (Village Hidden in Waterfalls) Kunoichi while looking at the other two. The red head had a tired look while the longed haired one was looking over the map that they had acquired from one of the outpost that they raided. "Hey Aki, you said that this treasure was said to be in Konoha but you never said what it is that we are looking for. Are we supposed to fight of an entire force because if so then I'm out" said the long hair kunoichi. Aki, the short silver haired kunoichi, looked back and yelled "Baka, of course were not. I hardly even think that we need to even break a nail to get it. After all, our client went to such detail and clearly stated that the treasure was out in the open unguarded. It seems that those stupid leaf ninja are just begging anyone to take it away. And if you must know, the thing that we have to take is some sort of statue. Did you finally get all of that, Jiyū"?

"Yeah, yeah I got it. Don't need to yell at me, you crazy harpy. I just hope that this will be easier than our last mission at trying to kill that damn bug demon, which I might add was a complete failure. We lost more than half of our country's forces from that damn mission. Stupid council trying to get us all killed" said Jiyū. She then looks over at Dansu (red head) who was still looking at open space. Getting out of her seat, Jiyū walks over and *BOINK* on top of her head. "Get your damn head out of the sky and pack up, we leave in five" she said clearly pissed at her friend's air headedness. Rubbing the top of her head, Dansu grabs her own supplies and begins the walk towards Konoha while hearing in the background "WAIT YOU DAMN BIMBO, WE STILL NEED TO FINISH PACKING UP".

10:44 p.m. Konoha, Convenience Store

It had been several hours after since Iuka's meeting with the Sandaime about the enrollment and placing of students at the Academy. Overall, Iruka was alright with the placements with the exception of one student. The students name was Naruto Uzumaki; he found it awkward that he would have to deal with the person containing the very monster responsible for his parents' death. He tried to ask the Hokage if he could not teach Naruto, but before he could voice his opinion the ANBU Captain returned with a file from the investigation of the statue. The Hokage had decided that the class arrangements would be fine and ended the meeting having them escorted out of his office.

Placing a head of lettuce in his basket, he sighed at the thought of having to teach Naruto. He was already feeling anguish from the thought of teaching the next generation of shinobi, but this bit of information would have him even more confused. He looks in his basket to see the head of lettuce along with several peppers and rice. He looked again with disgust and puts the basket down while heading out of the store. _'I know I'm confused and all but I'm not stupid to have Takikomi gohan for dinner. I hope that there is something still open'_ he thought while roaming around the streets. Several minutes have passed before something caught his nose. Stopping in place, Iruka looks around to see that he was in front of a ramen shop. *grumble*noting that his stomach would only growl more, he decides to try out this stand. Moving the cloth out of the way, Iruka takes the first seat he could find.

"Well what can I do for you mister?" said a young girl of the age ten. Iruka had to look over the counter to see a small child with a notepad and pen. "Uh…pork ramen with extra vegetables?" he said with a confused look while the child just smiled at him before calling out "Hey Daddy, pork ramen with extra vegetables". The girl skipped to the back and a much older man came out with a variety of vegetables in his arms. He looked to the girl with a smile plastered on his face and said "thank you Ayame-chan, now it's time for you to go to bed. Don't stay up to late reading those books you bought yesterday" while seeing her run up to her room. He then looks to the older teen to see the tense but confused look at the scene that had just played. "My daughter always wanted to help out ever since her mother passed. I figured that she just wanted to find an outlet from the pain she felt, but it soon I realized that she just wanted to see if I was holding up alright. You don't see that kind of trait in a younger generation these days do you, kid" Teuchi said while stirring the remnants of broth to cook ramen.

Iruka just remained silent through the ramen chef's talk while still listening intuitively. Teuchi continued to speak, "with our current generation, we are easily blind to know what the future could hold for us. One day we are at peace and a second later at war. We fear that our insecurities continue to build up until the overcome us" while emptying his pot into the bowl and placing it in front of Iruka. Iruka tense up from his statement but remains silent, picks up a pair of chopsticks and begins to sample the ramen. To his surprise, it was really good and starts to eat his food at a normal pace. The ramen chef sees this continues with his speech while picking up several used bowls in the process.

"But if you take a chance to continue on, then you may one day come to see it was not as difficult as one thought it to be. It all depends on the choice you are willing to make" he said while heading to the back to put the bowls in the sink. Iruka finishes up his food and brings his bowl to his mouth to finish off the broth. Once he finished it off, he was about to put it down when he sees some writing on the bottom of the bowl reading _'follow the path you believe in'_. He smiles at the suggestion at laughs that he is taking suggestions from a piece dishware. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out 725 ryō and places it on the counter. "Thank you for the meal and advice, Chef-san" he said while walking out with a smile on his face. Iruka could faintly hear the sound of laughter as he continues to walk in the opposite direction.

Once again walking home, Iruka senses that the chakra in the air was still moving towards the center of the park. Having nothing else to do for the remainder of the night, decides to go see the Ice Statue and offer a pray to the child and also to his parents. He continues to walk the path and could faintly hear the sound of pounding and harsh breathing. Iruka then jumps towards the trees to get a better look at the source and to his surprise sees Naruto punching the statue repeatedly. He was gaining a slight twitch near his forehead and yells jumping down from his position, "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING, NARUTO!"

Naruto startled by the screaming tenses up and looks over his shoulder to see a pissed of ninja staring down at him. First instinct told him to run, so he turned around and started to run only to be lifted off the ground by the collar of his orange jacket. Still struggling to get free, he flails his arms around trying to break free so that he wouldn't get beaten up. After a minute of continuous and pointless struggling, Naruto stops and waits for the beating to come. "Have you finally calmed down enough to explain why you are trying to destroy public property, Naruto" Iruka asked in a calm voice as to not startle the child. Seeing that he wasn't getting beaten up yet, Naruto looks behind to that the scared ninja wasn't looking at him like everyone else in the village and mumbles an explanation.

"Sorry, could you speak up so that I can properly hear you" Iruka asked trying to determine whether to bring him to the Hokage or just let him go with a lecture. Naruto showing his face pouting began to say "I'm not destroying anyone's property. All I'm trying to do is to get this guy to wake up". Iruka blinked several times from Naruto's statement from referring to the person in the ice instead of as most of the villagers see as nothing but property. Looking at the statue, Iruka could still see the crack from this morning had not grown from Naruto's constant attacks. He sighed before gentle placing Naruto back on the ground. Naruto then turned around to see the ninja if he would let him go. Iruka looked back at Naruto and asked "why are you even out here. You shouldn't be out at this time of night; you're going to mess up your internal clock when you're sleeping". Naruto only got the first sentence from the scarred ninjas lecture and answered "Training, of course. This ice is way better than any training dummy I could make".

"Training for what exactly" raising an eyebrow at the thought of a seven year old training in the middle of the night and waiting for an answer. "I'm here to make my dream come true. I'm going to be Hokage, (Da)ttebayo" he said with a massive grin covering his face. Showing a shocked face, Iruka let out a little chuckle at the bond's proclamation. "HEY, stop laughing at me. I am going to be Hokage and become your boss, so stop it" Naruto yelled out showing his pouting face at his dream being laughed at. Iruka let up from his chuckle and looked at Naruto's pouting face before placing his hand on the blonds head. "I'm sorry, Naruto. I'm not laughing at you or your dream. I just wasn't expecting something like that. Aiming for the Hokages seat is a noble goal to strive for" Iruka said while thinking to himself _'maybe he isn't as bad as I once thought'_.

"Blah blah blah, enough of this sugar coated crap already. Your making me lose my lunch" said a feminine voice from the forests edge. Iruka sensing different chakra signatures pulls Naruto behind him and draws a kunai. Looking towards the forest, Iruka sees three figures coming out. _'Damn it, this is not what I need right now. I need to ensure Naruto's safety and drive these kunoichi out of the village'_ thought the scarred Chūnin while trying to form a make shift escape plan for Naruto. Not too long after this thought, the three threw several while performing hands. "Gen'ei Tajū Shuriken" (Multiple Phantom Shuriken). "NARUTO, RUN NOW!" yelled Iruka before blocking several shuriken with his kunai. Several of the shuriken were nothing more than a simple genjutsu while others were real and was making Iruka's defense all the more difficult.

Seeing that Naruto was running towards the forest, Iruka decided to charge forward when the assault had subsided. Reaching into his pouch, he pulls out a smoke bomb and several tags. He throws the smoke bomb towards the three and watches them fall back to avoid the bomb not knowing whether it was explosive or not. "Tch, you think that this petty trick is going to slow us down. Jiyū, Dansu, synergy formation. Let's get rid of the twig and move onto our prize" said Aki while dashing through the smoke screen and preparing her set of hand signs, (Dog, Rat, Tiger) while inhaling her breath. Jiyū and Dansu inhaled their breath as well before releasing their jutsu. "Katon Renkeijutsu: Karura" (Co-operation jutsu: Garuda). All three released the jutsu and formed a giant dragon heading towards Iruka.

Upon seeing this Iruka was now nervous that this jutsu could not only kill him, but also destroy the Yukinoyono tsurī as well as Naruto. Acting fast, Iruka runs through his head at the possibility of blocking this jutsu. Coming to a conclusion, he throws four tags to the ground and runs through hand sings from the oncoming attack. On his last seal, Iruka places his hands on the ground and yells out "Fūka Hōin" (Sealing Jutsu: Fire Seal). Sweating from the flames coming right at him, the tags activate forming a large seal circle which began to glow an eerie violet. The attack stopped and forcing the flames to being sealed into the earth, allowing Iruka to run around the jutsu and towards the kunoichi. He reached them in no time and uppercut the red hair one with all his strength and knocking her out.

"DANSU! Damn you" Aki yelled out drawing her sword and dashing towards the leaf ninja. Iruka pulls out his kunai to block the blade. She brings her leg up to kick him in the head until he ducks down. He follows up with a punch to the side, forcing her to fall back. Iruka throws a flash bomb towards the long haired kunoichi to at least stall for more time. He then rushes towards Aki to kick her in the solar plexus and into a tree. She lost her grip on the sword, which allowed Iruka to grab the blade and impale it through her hands to the tree. "AAHHHH!" she let out a scream from the sudden pain coming from her now bleeding hands and sent a glare at him through her tearing eyes.

Iruka then looks over at the last enemy ninja only to see her running over the area where the fire jutsu was sealed. Clapping his hands together, he focuses his chakra towards the four seal tags and says "KAI". Once said the seal began to glow and the entire area was engulfed in flames, including Jiyū. The flames were heading towards the sky, out of harm's way and hopefully to attract the Hokages or ANBUs attention. The jutsu had finally died down enough that a few flames remained near the scorched area where there was now a charred body in the center. Iruka noting that the kunoichi will not be moving any time soon looks over to the forest and yells out "Naruto, come out now. I know that you have been here since the fight began".

"That was so cool. Can you teach me that?" said an energetic blond making his way towards Iruka with starry eyed look. Iruka sweat drops at this and would have to later on pound the lesson on follow orders later on when they were at the Academy. But for now, he would let Naruto praise him for his skill; it's not every day he got that kind of recognition. After several seconds later, ANBU showed up to see that there were several bodies and walked over to the kunoichi to restrain them. Crow walked over to Iruka for an explanation. After the explanation, with Naruto telling them the 'cool' jutsu he saw Iruka used, Crow had asked Iruka to report to the Hokage for the report. The ANBU vanished with their new captives heading towards the Department of Torture and Interrogation.

Iruka looked back at Naruto who still had his signature grin. "Alright Naruto, I believe that it is time for you to go home and get some sleep. Doesn't the Academy start in a few days, you wouldn't want to sleep in from lack of sleep would you?" he said while looking at a tired blond. Naruto looks up and says "will I get to see you again?" with a sad look. Iruka had a thoughtful look and crouched down to meet Naruto straight in the eye. "Tell you what, once you finish your first day at the Academy, I'll treat you to a restaurant I ran into tonight. How does that sound, Naruto" he asked now looking at a more cheerful Naruto. Iruka watches Naruto run back in the direction of his home and thinks _'it might actually be interesting being a teacher to someone like Naruto. Let's hope I don't have too many problems with the students'_. He made his way towards the statue and places a hand on it and talks out loud to no one in particular. "I have to wonder who you are to inspire a child to want to break you out of this jutsu. I hope to meet you so that you can answer my question" removing his hand and jumping into the trees towards his home.

Rune remains in the same position with no new cracks appearing on the surface of the ice. The statue began to emit a soft blue glow as chakra began being absorbed.

7:55 a.m. Konoha Ninja Academy (several days later)

Naruto was excited as ever. Today would be the day that he would begin his training to become a ninja. He was still running off of the battle that he saw with those three kunoichi against the scarred shinobi. He makes his way towards his new class room and sees that it was full of other kids his own age. He walks in as the bell rings that class has now begun. "Cutting it a bit close are we Naruto?" a voice said from behind and he turns around to see the scarred man holding several folders.

"W-what are you doing here. I thought you said…" Naruto stuttered while trying to form a proper sentence when Iruka spoke out loud. "If you can take your seat then we can begin class" Iruka said and lightly pushing Naruto to take his seat. The blond took a seat next to a chubby kid and silent kid, and directly in front of a pupil less heiress who began to mess with her hands. Iruka walked up to his new desk and looked towards his new students and said "Good morning class. My name is Iruka Umino and I have the privilege of being your teacher for the coming years" he said with a smile.

**A/N: Hope that was alright. I wanted to give some information on Iruka that many people did not know while also giving him more jutsu to use instead of the academy basics. Let's hope that this story is coming along alright. Next Chapter will introduce the third team mate, so if you haven't voted yet, do so cause it's about to close. Wish me luck on the next chapter of FDTR. Enjoy.**


	6. Ch 3: The Ninja Academy

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any other elements that I will use in this story. Those rights belong to Masashi Kishimoto and their proper owners.

Chapter 3: The Ninja Academy

9:04 a.m. Konoha Ninja Academy, Iuka's Classroom (5 Months Later)

It has been several months since the academy had begun, and Iruka was getting along well with several of the students. Some have proven difficult than others. Just this morning he had to drag Naruto to class from one of his pranks he pulled. How he was able to turn the drinking water for the entire village into soy sauce is completely beyond the Chūnin's head. Deciding on a fitting punishment latter, he begins his lesson on by asking a question towards his class of twenty-seven. "Alright class, who can tell me which country or countries that Hi no Kuni is allied with?"

Every student went silent at Iuka's question, getting a sigh out of him thinking that no one had even studied the subject. Trying to calm himself down from the growing headache, looks towards his class. He can see several civilian children were looking through their books for the answer while others were staring into space. Iruka moved his gaze towards the few who did not have their books out which consisted of mostly shinobi families. Reaching for his heaviest book on his desk, he begins to walk towards the front of the class in front of a student that had the courage to sleep in class. The students see this and started to snicker at what their sensei was about to do.

Lifting the 20lb textbook into the air, everything became silent waiting for what came next. "WAKE UP, SHIKAMARU!" Iruka yelled while dropping the book in front of his student. *BANG* the textbook hit the desk scaring most of the students who weren't paying attention. After the sudden scene, Shikamaru lifted his head to stare at his sensei with a lazy glare. Iruka had to hold up a smile when addressing his students and spoke out "thank you for joining us today, Shikamaru. Would you care to tell the class the answer from my previous question?" while hearing several students laughing.

Shikamaru Nara, heir to the Nara clan, looked at his teacher and back at the board for today's lecture. Not many, if not everyone, knew about him being a genuine genius with an IQ of over 200. He easily deducted that the class was going over known treaties and alliances that Hi and Konoha had with other countries. He began to think that if he said anything about them then that would require him to score a perfect test on everything and that would be too troublesome to deal with. He looked back towards his sensei and let out an "I don't know" before putting his head back down on his desk.

"Sigh…very well Shikamaru, but please remain awake. I don't want to have to bring your mother back here after the last meeting I had with her" Iruka said turning around while hearing 'troublesome' from behind. He took a glance to see that Shikamaru still had his head down but his eyes were on the board, indicating that he was still awake. Iruka looked back to the class to see that only one student had their hand in the air. This student was one of the few civilians that Iruka thought had a chance to become a shinobi. With a wave of his hand Iruka said "Yes, Sakura?"

A girl with bright pink hair stands up in one of the middle rows, moving some of her hair out of her eyes. "Well, to answer your question sensei, there are currently three; Yu no Kuni (Land of Hot Springs), Mori no Kuni (Land of Forests) and Cha no Kuni. This was to ensure that Hi no Kuni would be able to maintain its economy from any event" Sakura said with a hint of pride at her answer. She then took a glimpse at the student a few seats away to see if he was impressed. There wasn't even a glimpse let alone a twitch coming from him.

Iruka nodded at his students reply for giving the right answer. He took one last look at his class only to see that there was on hand up all the way in the back. From his rooster, the student in that seat was the Hyūga Heiress. Arching his brow at the initiative that she was showing, shushed his class to allow her to speak. Working up enough courage to rise out of her seat, Hinata brings her hands together for some comfort. Trying to swallow the lump in her throat, she opens her mouth to give her sensei her answer. "Um…S-sensei, I-I k-know that w-we are d-discussing about a-alliances b-but there is t-that peace t-treaty that H-Hi a-and K-Kaze signed w-with K-Kawa. I think I-it was called 'Garasu no jōyaku', f-from what my f-father told me" she said while staring at the ground. Silence was all that could be heard around the classroom as every student was looking at her. Hinata's face began to darken a colorful red as she decided to sit back down and remain quite from embarrassment.

"That is a very astute answer, Hinata. 'Garasu no jōyaku' isn't as much as an alliance treaty but a peace treaty. Though Konoha still have disputes with Suna, our actions have not once crossed the treaty that we have signed with Kawa. Although, not much has been mentioned from Kawa for the last few years" Iruka mumbled the last part to himself. Kawa had always been supplying them with different river vessel blueprints to improve trading and to maintain peace to a certain extent. Konoha has been having a small decrease of missions from them over the last few years. Kawa still sends out missions to investigate the surrounding border of any local bandits but nothing more.

Iruka walked back to his desk to pull out a scroll containing the class schedule for the day. Once he untied it, Iruka opened it up to have the whole room flooded in smoke. *cough cough* the class continued to cough from the smoke while trying to clear it from their sight. Once the smoke cleared, the class was looking around to see what had happened. They saw nothing but a very red faced Iruka staring at the center of the classroom which sat Naruto. "NARU-"

"Don't look at me. I didn't do it this time, I swear Iruka-sensei. Honest" Naruto stated a bit franticly at being blamed for this poor excuse for a joke. If it were up to him, he would have used orange paint. "And besides, I don't know how to use a storage seal. You haven't taught us yet and this is nothing compared to what I could have done" he said while puffing his chest out. Iruka had to suppress a twitch at the thought of teaching Naruto new ways to improve his pranking. *knock knock* came from the door and everyone looked to see who it was while Iruka let out 'enter'.

A teacher by the name of Take came through the door looking at Iruka. "Sorry to disrupt your class Iruka, but I am currently looking for a scroll for my sealing class and I can't seem to find it. Do you happen to know where it could be?" Take ask while looking at Iruka whose face was slowly losing some of his anger to be replace with a calm look. Iruka looked towards Naruto who was looking at Iruka with 'I-told-you-so' look. "Sorry Naruto. Alright class, we will have a short recess while I sort this out. You all have 20 minutes till you need to be back in your seats" he said while still holding onto the now empty scroll and pushing Take out of the class room. Once the teacher left, the students decided to get into their cliques.

Most of the female ratio of the class was surrounding the kid with black spiky hair. He had on a simple gray shirt with a high collar and a fan shape crest on the back of the neck, along with black shorts and sandals. This is Sasuke Uchiha, one of the last remaining in the world. Ever since the massacre of his clansmen, Sasuke has never been seen without a scowl upon his face. And the fan girls to continue to grow everyday was not helping either. "Hm" is all that he will ever say when asked by anyone who annoyed him, which included everyone. Deciding to spare him a headache, got out of the desk and headed out of the class.

Naruto seeing that Sasuke was leaving got out of his chair to follow him, while he was unknowingly being followed by Hinata. When Naruto caught up with Sasuke, he was leaning against a training dummy starring at Naruto. Hinata, not knowing what to do, remained near the door to observe what was happening. The two decided to stare at each other before Sasuke spoke. "Dobe".

"Baka" Naruto said before making a bee line for the Uchiha. Bringing his left fist to punch Sasuke in the face, the Uchiha simply stepped out of the way and caught Naruto's foot with his own making him fall to the ground. Naruto mumbles "stupid duck-butt head" before getting off the ground and charges at Sasuke once more. This was a common occurrence between the two ever since Iruka set up that practice match to improve everyone's Taijutsu. The result of that fight was one sided leaving Naruto on the ground with Sasuke hovering over him with something hidden in his eyes. Ever since then, Naruto continues to fight with Sasuke in hopes to getting stronger. But he has never once thrown a punch at Naruto unless it was during an official match.

Hinata continues to stare at the one-sided fight as she moves to a tree to get a better view. From her angle, she sees that Naruto is throwing his right leg towards Sasuke's ribcage in an attempt to force the Uchiha to use his arms. Sasuke skillfully bends down to allow the attack to fly over him and moves his foot to lock onto Naruto's now exposed leg. Once caught, he forces the blonde's leg into the air resulting in Naruto to land on his back. Naruto moves his hands to the ground in an attempt to get off the ground only for Sasuke to forcefully hold him to the ground with his foot. Struggling to break free from his hold, Naruto glares at the Uchiha in another attempt for a reaction. "Dobe" was all Sasuke said before lifting his foot and walked back to the class room to resume what remained for the day.

"ARGH" Naruto screamed that he lost to Sasuke again. Laying back on the ground to stare at the sky deciding wither or not to cut class to sleep or prank someone else. Deciding to take a page out of Shikamaru book, choose to sleep where he was and handle Iruka-sensei's lecture later. Once a few minutes have gone by, Hinata looks from her hiding place to see that the blonde was sleeping on the ground. Looking around to see if they were alone, worked up the courage to take a few steps towards Naruto.

Hinata was fidgeting with a small package in her coat pocket debating with herself on wither to give it to Naruto now that he was a sleep or when he was awake. Removing the package, she held a small brown box with a card. She decided to write a little more in the card and was having a hard time on either writing her name on it. Her face held a tint of pink at the thought and chose not to write her name and reached into her other pocket to pull out a bookmarker, deciding that the marker would be better, inserted it in the card and looked back to the sleeping Naruto. "I k-know that I'm n-not g-good at this a-and that it i-is a l-little late. So, I j-just wanted t-to say Ha-happy Birthday Na-Naruto" she said placing the gift down next to the blonde. At seeing Naruto move for fear at him starting to wake up, Hinata let out an 'Eep' and rushed back to the safety of the tree to hide herself and her blushing face. She decided to wait and see if Naruto would wake up or sleep before deciding to head back to class. Unfortunately for her, he chose to wake up.

Sitting up off the ground, Naruto stretches his arms to the sky to get rid of the ache in his joints from his previous 'one-sided' fight with Sasuke. "Just wait, I'm going to make you use your hands and win. Nothing is going to stop me from being Hokage, Dattebayo" he said out loud. He moved his hands to the ground to get up when he felt an object. Looking to see what it was, he sees that it is a box with a letter addressed to him. Picking up the letter, he looks around to see if there was anyone else in the area. Seeing no one, Naruto opened the letter to read its contents but had not seen that something fell out of it.

He read to himself "_Um…hello Naruto-kun. I am sorry that this is a little late but this is a present for you. I would have given it to you sooner but I didn't know when it was, I'm sorry. I hope you like it. I know you can defeat Sasuke-kun. Don't let anyone say otherwise. You can do it. Happy Birthday Naruto._" Naruto re-read it to make sure that he was reading the same thing. '_Someone had actually got me a birthday present_' he thought over before looking at the ground to see another piece of paper had landed on the gift in question facedown. Flipping it over, Naruto could see the piece of paper had a dried white lily on it.

Confused at the flower he moved towards the gift to see what he got. Once all of the paper had been ripped off, he could see the gift that made his eyes widen. Inside were the goggles he had wanted when he went pass the market one day to escape from his current prank. He was so caught up staring at them that he didn't notice the Chūnin had surrounded him with rope in hand. Naruto since that day had constantly saved up to buy them but a few weeks ago when he decided to go get them, the merchant had refused him the sale saying that only ninja were allowed to purchase anything from his shop. Now staring at them, he let out a grin that someone would get him anything, let alone something he had wanted.

Picking up both the goggles and the dried flower, he let out "HEY, Shirayuri-san (white lily), don't know who you are but thanks for the present. Its great and I hope to see you soon" with a grin on his face. Placing the goggles on top of his head and holding onto the pressed flower, made his way back to class with a renewed spirit. After several minutes had passed, Hinata came from behind the tree with her face aflame from the nick name that Naruto had unknowingly given her. She heard Iruka-sensei calling out for her saying that class has begun and made her way to resume class.

3:13 p.m. Secret Cavern Outside of Hi no Kuni's Capital

A young man with onyx eyes and jet-black hair continues his walk around the cavern waiting for his contact to come meet him. Checking to make sure that there were no other devices to could hear him, he let out a sigh from all that has happen to him from the past several months. This teen was now known to be the instigator of a massive genocide of an entire clan that he himself came to love. His name is Itachi Uchiha, the previous ANBU Captain of Konoha and prodigy of the Uchiha.

From the moment he heard his father asking him to spy on the Hokage for information that the clan could use for the coup d'état, Itachi had to make so many choices knowing that he would lose if he choose either side. In one hand he could be with his family at the expense of the destruction of Konoha along with the possibility of another Shinobi War. While in the other he would kill his family to spare the hundreds of lives in the village. It wasn't until Danzō came to him proposing that he should take the lives of his clansmen with the exception his brother.

He remembers the words that his father spoke before he murdered him. "_Do not fear…this is the path you chose, is it not…? Our pain will end in an instant. It's nothing compared to what you will face. Even though our way of thinking differs, I am proud of you…You truly are a gentle child._" He replayed those words over again until his eyes started to shed tears. Wiping them away, he gets up and heads to the exit of the cavern. When he was outside, he saw the man with the orange mask waiting patiently for him. Itachi resumed his stoic face and walked towards him. "It seems that you have made your choice to join the Akatsuki. And you did such a splendid job of the massacre that I was questioning your intentions of what would happen afterwards. But you still left your brother alive, why?" he asked looking at Itachi through his single eye.

Itachi merely gave the man a glance before replying "it was my choice to eliminate my clan and to join the Akatsuki. We hold a deal that you will not harm Konoha and my brother before I killed the Uchiha. Be sure to honor that". The orange masked man gave Itachi no voiced reply but shook his head in agreement. "Of course, Itachi, I am a man of my word. I just need one question answered before we make our way to Amegakure" he said catching Itachi's attention. The man showed his Sharingan when he asked "what is the statue that now resides in Konoha?"

"The statue that you are referring to is some child within a Hyōton jutsu that has been there for several years now. Why do you ask?" Itachi said wondering why this man who claims to be Madara when they first meet wanted to know about a child who froze themself. Madara only gave him "nothing of our concern" and walked away towards Ame no Kuni. Itachi would have to keep an eye on him while keeping tabs on when the child would be released from the jutsu. When he investigated it, he came to the conclusion that the jutsu was losing chakra and would soon release the child in several more years. Hopefully when the time came, Itachi would know the true purpose as to why Madara asked about it. Starring back at the direction of Konoha, he put on his new black cost with red clouds before walking to Ame.

**Hey everyone, sorry for not updating as fast as I wanted. I hope that this chapter is good for being shorter than the others. Hopefully I can make a new chapter more quickly. Please review on what I have so far. I also wanted to know if I should make, when Rune gets out of his prison, should he go to Taki no Kuni or Mizu no Kuni? Keep reading.**


	7. Ch 4: Awakening

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any other elements that I will use in this story. Those rights belong to Masashi Kishimoto and their proper owners.

Chapter 4: Awakening

Spring, Hokage Tower 2:25 p.m. (4 years later)

Calm: a state of time when everything is tranquil. Years have passed and Konoha has once again regained their shinobi from the night the Kyūbi attack. In the office of the Hokage, sat the Sandaime in all of his glory…or what's left of it from the surrounding paperwork. All of his hair has either fallen out or has turned gray from the content bane of Kages worldwide. His stress had only elevated from Naruto defiling the Hokage Monument in less than 2 hours yesterday. Leaning into his desk, Hiruzen begins to think to himself. '_If this paperwork doesn't kill me, I am sure that Naruto will_'.

Getting out of his desk, Hiruzen decides to take a late night stroll through the tower to clear his thoughts on the genin exam results that had come in that afternoon. Once he had looked at it, he felt an ache in his heart that Naruto didn't pass the exam again for the third time.

_Flashback_

Iruka had explained to the Sandaime that due to increase of civilian applicants, the standards for the Academy had to increase so that the students could survive if they choose to continue with their shinobi careers. That was the explanation that Iruka had received from the forms received from the council. When Hiruzen asked from which council that form came from, Iruka showed him the papers. Upon closer inspection, these forms where from several of the new civilian council members that have been selected to represent trading of foreign countries and stability of the village. '_So why were these councilmen medaling with shinobi affairs? Several of them haven't even been in their designated positions for more than 4months, they wouldn't have been able to get these forms unless they…_' as he continued his thought, he scrunched the paper in his hands before storming out to find these individuals.

_End of Flashback_

The Sandaime had to go to each person responsible for signing these papers and dragging them to the Intelligence building to give them an 'appointment' with Ibiki. With them out of the way, Hiruzen now had to wait for Ibiki's report and continue the planning of the next genin teams and to review Naruto's test scores from before this incident. "Paperwork truly is the bane of Kages, now I understand why Tobimaru-sensei had a scowl on his face whenever we returned to the village from a mission…sigh" Hiruzen said before closing the door to his office and giving his legs some much needed exercise. Walking pass several doors, his ears pick up something from behind one of the locked doors. Deciding to take some of his frustration out on whoever was in there, unlocks the door. When the door swung open, allowing the hall lights to show the inside, Hiruzen was surprised who he had found. "Naruto?"

Naruto (12 years old) had stood where he was, spooked by the sudden turning of locks and the appearance of the Hokage. Deciding that he needed to get out of here brought his hands together in a ram hand seal. "Oiroke no Jutsu". The room was filled with white smoke and the sounds coughing coming from the Sandaime. Once Hiruzen moved some of the smoke, he looked around to see if Naruto was just doing another prank for retaliation from today's exam, only to hear the sounds of a girls giggling coming from Naruto's general direction. In a fell swoop, the figure jumped out of the smoke and Hiruzen got a look at what was making that giggling sound. The figure was still surrounded in smoke, and that was it. Hiruzen saw, for the most part, a naked woman in a provocative pose winking at him with a look he hadn't seen since his late wife. "Sa-ru-kun" the women said in a sultry voice. There was silence in the air for several more seconds before Hiruzen tumbled backwards with a small blood trail coming from his nose. All he could think about was '_Forgive me Biwako, forgive me_' over and over.

"Sorry Ojii-san, but I have a too become a genin, no matter what. I'll apologize to you later once my test is done." Naruto said undoing the jutsu before strapping a huge scroll over his back and running out into the hallway to meet Mizuki-sensei. If he could just get to the area he was supposed to meet him, he can finally begin his ninja career to become Hokage.

2:48 p.m. Cabin in the Woods

"All right, I'm here Mizuki-sensei" Naruto said while landing from in the clearing. Looking around, the area looked deserted and the cabin appeared to have not been in use for some time. "Maybe he isn't here yet?" shrugging at the thought, he removes the scroll from his back and places it on the ground. Turning his head to the left and back to the right to see if he was alone, he allowed a small grin to cross his face. He grabs the tassel that binds the scroll and unraveled it across the clearing.

"Well, there would be no sense in letting this go to waste now. Let's see…" Naruto began looking at the first jutsu that was written in it. '_Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu…_'it took Naruto several seconds before "WWHHAATTT!? Aw come on, I'm not good at that!" scratching his head in frustration at the one thing he can't do. It was a simple Bunshin or clone jutsu that the Academy teaches, but also the one thing that failed him from becoming a genin. Shaking that particular thought away, he looks at the hand sign for the jutsu and begins to practice them.

"I don't care if I have to wait all night, I am going to master this jutsu!" he said while adding his chakra to perform and shouting out "Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu". White smoke surrounded Naruto as he began chanting to himself '_please work, please work, please_'. Opening his eyes to see several clones of himself that looked like they were deathly pale and lying on the ground. He had to force himself to not yell out his frustration. "Why is it like that ever-" "HEY BOSS!" startled by the voice coming from behind, Naruto turns around to see…himself?

Standing in front of him was an exact replica of himself in all of his orange glory. Blinking at the clone, he began to rub his eyes from either lack of sleep or the constant stress he was under. When he looked back, the clone was still there grinning at him. Several seconds had passed before he raised his hands into the sky and "WO-HOOOO. ALRIGHT, I FINALLY GOT A BUNSHIN TO WORK!"

He ran over to see if the Bunshin was stable and the moment he got close, his foot gets snagged by a tree root. The next thing that Naruto expects to feel would be the ground rushing towards his face and yet is forcefully grabbed by the neck of his coat by his clone. "W-what the? How the hell are you grabbing me?" stuttered a shocked Naruto at the clone's sudden catch. Getting into a heated discussion with his clone before the clone *Poof* out of existence. Blinking at the wonders of what had happened; he makes his way back to the scroll to see if it would provide any help.

Looking over the scroll several times, all Naruto could make out was that the clones were solid as he was. After looking at the hand seal once more, began rolling it back up and continued to practice. Adjusting his goggles on his head so that they weren't crooked, he began to wonder about the one who had originally given the goggles to him all those years ago. No matter how many people he had asked, all of them had been in the classroom and didn't notice anyone leaving the room. All that Naruto had on Shirayuri-san was that they would leave white lilies on all of the places he/she went to. Every so often, Naruto went to the park to test his strength on the statue, there would sometimes be a small bouquet of lilies at the base of it.

He never could find out who would leave them there, but it always brought a smile to his face that someone care enough to honor the man who fought alongside the Yondaime. Once Naruto was out of his self-induced trance, he could see that there were 4 more Bunshin that actually looked presentable and not on the verge of death. For reasons beyond him, whenever he thought about those lilies, he would always do a little better than any of his past attempts. "Alright, let's keep it up. We're not going to rest till we master this jutsu. Let's Go!" he said to inspire them work harder and the Bunshin replied with a "YEAH!"

3:21 a.m., (Dreamscape?)

Darkness continues to flood this realm. Wither they are animal or human, it matters little for this is a realm between mind and matter. The only thing that can be seen is an enormous, illuminated stained-glass pillar rising from the unseen depths of this realm. On the surface of the pillar was a simple design of river with several lotuses floating on it. Some of the details were put into the ripples around the flowers and the waves moving along the imaginary wind. In the center of this pillar was a sleeping Rune laid out across the ground. There were several patches of ice covering his body.

*Click Clack* the sound of footsteps could be heard from everywhere. The steps continue to vibrate the area in a calm fashion at what appears to be heading towards the pillar. When the sound had finally reached the pillars top, it came from the sandal of Kyoko Yuki. Kyoko still looked the same as the day that she had frozen Rune in Konoha, except for the fact that she is now transparent. She looked at her hands only to see the outline of it and a blurry floor. She lifts her head up from her hand to look at the sleeping form that was now sleeping in its center. Kyoko had to stifle a laugh at the scene before her as she walked over. Once she had gotten close enough, she kneeled down to the floor to find a comfortable spot. Even from this angle, she couldn't get a good look at his sleeping face. She sighed and patted the top of his head in a motherly way.

"So this is what grandfather was talking about. I always thought that he was a little odd but now I see that the Hyōton: Akuma no hitsugi was meant for. '_To give up the ability to channel chakra, one is able to protect our children to see a new day_'. So for this part, I can assume that it is the part that I need to wake up Rune and say my final farewell" she said with a little sorrow in her voice. She then moved her hand from atop of Rune's head towards his heart from when she had first started the jutsu all those years ago.

Her body began to glow a faint blue at using the last of her chakra to awaken the teen. She began to push the chakra into him to melt the remainder of the ice that covered his body. While doing so, she was smiling and shedding tears at the fact that she would be the one to release what she thought of to be a curse. "I-If you-u ever…hic…r-run into H-Haku" Kyoko couldn't stop crying at this point as her lower body began to vanish while she still remained in place. "Pl-lease tell h-him…hic…that I love h-him s-so much…hic…a-and tha-that I will al-always watch…hic hic…o-over him" she said, the tears wouldn't stop as they fell from her face and landing on Rune's black coat.

The ice was slowly turning into particles of light that were ascending towards the pitch dark sky. While she still had her hands, quickly wiped away the tears and seeing the teen slowly vanish with the light. Putting on a genuine smile, she looked at the sky to see the lights still floating upwards. "It's time to wake up, Rune-kun. You helped me to achieve what I wanted, so now it's my turn to help you" Kyoko said while the last of her body vanished into the void.

3:21 a.m. Konoha Park, The Ice Statue

Clouds were obstructing the night sky, covering Konoha from the light of the moon. All that could be seen was a soft blue glow around the Statue. *Crack* from the center of the first crack, a larger one ran parallel with it showering the ground in several snowflakes. *Crack CRACK* the statue had continued to receive more cracks when the glow began to glow brighter until it light up the entire park. The glow had continued for several minutes when it began to dim.

Once the glow vanished, the ice statue was no more. In its place was now a sleeping Rune spread out on the grass. There would be a twitch of the muscles as there was blood running through his veins once more. After a few minutes more, his breathing had started up in a calm manner while lifting his heavy eyelids. Still feeling very tired and unworldly cold, was trying to remember what had happen. '_Where am I? Why is it so cold_' he asked himself while trying to get off the ground but failing miserably at the fact that his arms are still numb from underuse. Rune began to squeeze his hands together to get them some heat so that he would be rid of this cold feeling that surrounded his body. He remained in his position until he was warmer and finally sat up right looking straight at the area where there were still pieces of ice embedded into the ground. Rune brought his hands to his head to search for any injury, that he finally gets a good look at his arms.

His arms were fine; nothing broken, not frozen and definitely still there. They now just had light pink burn marks running in multiple directions up and down his arms. Pain shot through Runes head as he was starting to recall the events that had happened. "That's right. The Yondaime and I were distracting Kyūbi while Kushina-san and Kyoko-san were waiting for the right time to immobilize it. The Hokage and Kushina were rushing towards an altar when…" he grew quiet, not wanting to finish his own sentence. The thought alone made rune want to punch something. Deciding to get off his ass and do something about it, he hears a small '_Thank _You' in the wind. Turning around to see who it was he was rewarded with only that; a small gust of wind that lifted the snow particles off the ground in began to soar in the air.

Seeing the snow sway like filled him with warmth. Sensing a rather large chakra source coming from the forest, Rune took one last look at the scene before him as he ran to the chakras origin.

5:18 a.m. Cabin in the Woods

The clouds have parted to show the moonlight through the tree line. In the clearing beneath the trees leaning over the scroll, heaving heavily at the trainging that Naruto was doing. When the moonlight was being blocked by something, Naruto looked up to see the twitching face of Iruka. "Hey, Naruto" the teacher said with his face showing annoyance at the constant chase he had to find the blonde knucklehead. From Naruto's perspective, Iruka was trying to smile and thought and not yell at him. So he returned the smile with his own and scratched the back of his head while chuckling to himself.

"Oh man, guess I got caught. I could only learn one jutsu" Naruto stated while still chuckling. Iruka had gotten a good look at Naruto; his clothes were covered in leaves and dirt, there was sweat falling down Naruto's brow as well. '_He practiced out here…until he was worn-out_' Iruka thought before being interrupted by Naruto. "Hey, Iruka-sensei, I'm going to show you this really awesome Jutsu, so let me graduate if I can do it! If I can show a Jutsu from this scroll, I can graduate from the Academy, right?" the blonde asked looking hopeful.

Iruka was caught off guard by this; he needed more answers as to what is going on. "Where did you here that from, Naruto?" asked the scared Chūnin while ignoring the slight rustling coming from the trees. The next word spoken from Naruto had sent Iuka's mind completely blank. "Mizuki-sensei did."

*cling* Iruka heard the sound of metal scratching against each other and proceeded to push Naruto out of the way. The next thing he knew, he was being bombarded with several kunai from above not having enough time to block them. A majority of the kunai had embedded themselves into Iruka flak jacket while several had found their way into his right thigh and shoulders. Blood was slowly pouring out of the open wounds. Iruka quickly removed them while holding onto one as a precaution. He looked up at the tree branch that now supported Mizuki with a harsh glare.

"Well done Naruto, you have now completed the mission. Hand over the scroll to receive your Hitai-ate" Mizuki said with a satisfied smile. Iruka continue to glare at him while listening to Naruto trying to make sense of what was going on. "Naruto don't listen to him. He used you to steal the Forbidden Scroll. RUN AWAY NOW!" the scarred Chūnin yelled trying to get Naruto out of the way. Hearing this, Naruto's turned from shocked to disbelief and then to anger.

"Oh, Naruto, why do you have such a hateful look in your eyes? Perhaps to get back on your good side, allow me to tell you the truth as to why everyone detests you so" Mizuki said with a grin at the looks on both of them. Iruka was screaming at him to not speak of it while Naruto had on a scared expression at what his former sensei knew. "There was a rule that was established around 12 years ago to keep you in the dark. Everyone knows about it."

"What Rule?" Naruto asked wanting to know why everyone hated him so much. "DON'T MIZUKI!" Iruka yelled pulling out a second kunai with a flash bomb attached. He was about to throw it to shut him up, but it was too late. "Because you are the Kyūbi no Kitsune that destroyed the village" the bandana wearing Chūnin said. Silence was all that could have been heard as terror had been riddled into the faces of Iruka and Naruto. There were too many thoughts going through Naruto's head that he couldn't hear anything around him. Unable to handle the stress, he collapsed to the ground clutching his head while scooting backwards.

"No one will ever accept you, Kyūbi brat. Why not face reality and just DIE!" Mizuki screamed as he threw one of his Giant Shuriken from his back towards Naruto. Naruto didn't see anything. The moment he had closed his eyes and reopened them, Iruka was over him in a protective stance. He began coughing up blood which descended onto Naruto's face with widen eyes. He scooted back further away from the Chūnin before making a dash for the woods. "Naruto" Iruka said as tears were slowly descending down his check.

"Naruto isn't the type who is willingly going to change his mind. He's going to take revenge on this wretched village with that scroll. You saw it in his eyes, didn't you?" Mizuki said while falling from his position in the tree to the ground. Iruka reached behind his back to remove the giant shuriken from his back to regain movement. Iruka was beginning to feel dizzy from losing to much blood. "Those were the eyes of the Kyūbi" Mizuki said with a feral grin while staring down at Iruka.

"SHUT UP" the scared Chūnin yelled as he threw the shuriken with all of his might at Mizuki. He simply turned his body and allowed the shuriken to continue its course towards the woods behind him. The bandana wearing Chūnin cast one last look at Iruka before rushing after Naruto to retake the Forbidden scroll. Iruka seeing this begins to chase after them both.

5:27 a.m. Clearing in the Woods (1.2 miles away from Konoha)

Rune was running through the tree tops trying to locate the source of this massive chakra that was zigzagging through the forest was becoming a rather annoying task. When the chakra had finally stopped running, rune increased his pace to catch up with them. When he was close enough, rune hid himself to check his surroundings. What he saw was a ninja wearing a bandana rushing straight towards a fallen Chūnin. '_Is he planning to kill that man?_' Rune thought trying to pick up what they were trying to say. The next thing he knew, there was a streak of orange shooting out of the forest and attacking the bandana ninja.

Seeing that the giant shuriken was heading straight towards him, rune took a side step and caught the shuriken through its holding. Pressing the mechanism on the holder, the shuriken slowed down considerable thus allowing Rune to continue this new outcome. Taking a look at the orange blob, Rune's eyes widen at the head of blonde hair while one thought had come to mind. 'The _Yondaime Hokage?!_'

"If you ever lay a hand on Iruka-sensei, I'LL KILL YOU" the blonde knuckle head said in a threatening tone as rune felt that the massive spike in chakra was radiating off this kid. Mizuki got back off the ground, glaring daggers at the blond before recomposing himself and said "Not bad, Little Kyūbi. I hope that you're ready to die".

That comment had caught Runes attention. '_Little Kyūbi? If that's true, this that blonde kid would have to be…Kushina-san's child!_' with widen at how much time had passed sense the fight against the Kyūbi. Deciding to hop down to the ground, wondering what was going to happen next. "Bring it on, I'll throw everything back at you a thousand times over" Naruto said creating a cross hand seal and pouring a massive amount of chakra into it. "Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu". White smoke had filled the entire clearing and several parts of the forest. When it had finally cleared; Mizuki, Iruka, and Rune were dumbfounded at what was before them. Dozens of Naruto's had filled the clearing and the trees. Some had even been above Rune not noticing his presence. '_Yeah, he is diffidently your son Kushina-san. He's just as crazy as both you and your husband_' Rune thought while clutching his burned arms from the Bijūdama that the Yondaime had diverted from Konoha to a safe location.

The clones had begun their charge on the poor shinobi, beating him to a pulp with their fist and feet. After several minutes had past, Mizuki was lying on the ground breathing ragged from the onslaught. Naruto made his way back to where Iruka was sense the teacher had asked him. From Rune's position, Iruka had removed his Hitai-ate from his head and proceeded to put it on Naruto. He pushed the goggles down to his neck and tied the Hitai-ate around his head. He sat back down at the base of the tree admiring his student. The sun had decided to begin its ascension over the horizon and light up the forest.

Rune couldn't help but smiling at the scene before him. He looked about to see if he could get out of here but saw Mizuki bring out one more giant shuriken and threw it at Naruto and Iruka before passing out. Eye's widening, Rune ran through had seals (Snake, Horse, and Dog) and slammed his hands to the earth Hoping that his aim wasn't off. "Kōton: Supaikusupia" (Spike Spear). The giant Shuriken was coming dangerously close to them when a steel spear of 5 feet shoot up from the ground but never went airborne. It shoot straight through the hole of the shuriken and caught it with a loud *Clang*. Iruka was shocked that something had appeared from the ground, when he and Naruto looked behind they saw that the spear (from what they could guess) had caught the giant shuriken. "W-What…" they both said astounded.

"It's good to see that you are unharmed" Rune said as he came out of his hiding spot knowing that he couldn't hide a spear coming out beneath the ground a few feet away from them. Seeing that both of them had turned to see Rune and were surprised at what they saw. "HEY, it's the frozen statue guy" Naruto yelled with wide eyes at the person before him. Rune chuckled at the nickname and felt something coming from the sky. Deciding to look up, he continued to speak "You remind me of them, Naruto-kun". Before Naruto could ask, dozens of ANBU had surrounded him and Iruka. But a massive amount of the ANBU had surrounded the cloaked statue guy with their tantō's against his neck. "Unidentified ninja, for illegal entry into Konohagakure, you are here by placed under arrest" the white coat ANBU with a Tiger mask said before pulling out chakra surprising cuffs.

**Alright, Rune is finally free from a 12 year slumber. I would like to give my thanks to those who had decided to review my story; jack hopper, 4fireking, Ayrmed, and** **NaruHinaUntilTheEnd. Thank you so much for the reviews and to those who are following this story as well. I was doing a bit of research and I think I have found a good team for Rune. I'm going to tell you all in the next chapter. Take care and keep reading.**


	8. Ch 5: Trial and Teams

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any other elements that I will use in this story. Those rights belong to Masashi Kishimoto and their proper owners.

Chapter 5: Trial and Teams

9:16 a.m. ANBU Prison, Beneath the Hokage Tower

'_Well isn't this just great. I've been in Konoha for less than twelve hours and I'm already in jail. Kami-sama must hate me' _Rune said with a long sigh at the predicament he was in. He was remembering the events that had happen earlier that morning.

Flashback (5:43 a.m.)

"Unidentified ninja, for illegal entry into Konohagakure, you are here by placed under arrest" the white coat ANBU with a Tiger mask said before pulling out chakra surprising cuffs. Rune looks at the ANBU that is currently surrounding him to get an estimate of how many he would have to take out. Twenty-four regular ANBU and three white coated ANBU were within the general area. _'My chakra isn't what I would like it to be. I need to stall a little longer and find an opening to at least cover my face. From where I am as of now, there's no possible way I'll get out of Konoha'_ Rune thought while watching the Tiger ANBU come closer.

"Wait a minute, what do you mean he's underarest. He just saved me and Iruka-sensei's life from that teme. He didn't do anything wrong" yelled a blonde jinchūriki pointing at Mizuki who had passed out and was being restrained by two ANBU. Several other members were staring at Naruto from his constant rambling which allowed Rune to perform "Doton: Chidōkaku" (Moving Earth Core) as he slammed his hands to the ground. Forcing chakra out of his hands, the earth around the area began to shake considerable forcing several of the ANBU to infuse chakra to their feet to stabilize themselves as they charged at the rising pile of earth surrounding the cloaked teen. The tower of earth was rather small considered what most of the more experience veterans went through during the Third War. An ANBU with a Cat mask was the first to arrive and drew a blade out and in one flowing motion, cut the tower horizontally in half while Tiger punched the tower off its standing to fall to the earth.

Once the tower fell to the ground, all personnel brought out their tantō's and were ready to attack when they saw a streak of white fluttering from the dust cloud caused by the fallen tower. The streak of white was the inner lacings of the teens black coat as he had removed it from himself, holding it to the sky. "I HERBY SURRENDER TO KONOHA. BY MY RIGHT I WISH TO SPEAK WITH YOUR CURRENT HOKAGE FOR TERMS OF SURRENDER" Rune yelled at the top of his voice as the dust cloud had finally cleared up. Everyone was staring at the now coatless teen waving his coat around. He had on a black sleeveless shihakushō top that was tucked into his white hakama. There was a simple red zigzag line going diagonal from his outer thigh towards his inner calf. Upon his left thigh was an empty Yebira (Quiver) that held no design on it. When everyone looked to see his face, all they saw was a blank steel full mask being covered by a few stray sliver/white hairs. His long hair had now been undone and was in a low ponytail behind his back. "Remove that mask immediately" Tiger demanded as his team had once again surrounded Rune. Rune still held his coat high into the sky before taking a deep breath and yelling out "IF YOU ARE THE KIND OF MAN THAT I THINK YOU ARE HOKAGE-SAMA, THEN YOU WILL SEE ME BEFORE MORNING ENDS". He lowered his arm and let the hooded coat fall to the ground. Rune turned his masked face towards Tiger along with his hands together out towards him. "I will go with you willingly and without a fuss. All that I ask is to keep this mask on for my own protection" Rune said calmly while waiting for Tiger to place the chakra sealing cuffs on him.

Tiger looked at the teen with a confused stare. _'He only used the Doton to give himself cover and time to allow himself to place that mask on. Does the mask contain explosive notes in it if we take it by force, thus allowing him to kill himself and the people around him? First we need to immobilize him and bring him back to HQ for questioning'_ he thought to himself as he placed the cuffs on Rune with so much as a hassle. The ANBU moved into circle formation to transfer both prisoners and were about to set off if Naruto hadn't gotten the idea to intervene. "You're not going to take him without going through me. Kage-" the knucklehead said raising his hands to form a cross hand seal when an ANBU with a Hawk mask appeared behind him and touched the back of his head gently effectively knocking him out. Hawk caught Naruto before he had hit the ground and threw him over his right shoulder while picking up the Forbidden scroll. "I will return to Hokage-sama to give him our report along with the Forbidden Scroll. Is that acceptable, Taicho" hawk asked looking at Tiger to see him nodding before vanishing.

Rune looked at the last location he saw Naruto and smiled at his actions. _'He doesn't even know if I was an enemy and yet he was willing to defend me. You really do remind me of Kushina-san, Naruto-kun'_ he thought as his gaze turned to the scarred Chūnin being supported by Cat. Rune spoke up before the ANBU had pushed him towards Konoha and said "If you meet Naruto before I do, please tell him that I'll be fine and out before the day is over". Iruka looked skeptical at not seeing the teens face, but nodded in agreement to pass the message along before the ANBU vanished and Cat dragged him to the hospital"

End of Flashback

"Sigh…I'm starting to wonder if the Hokage had even gotten my message. I know that he's a busy man and all, but the circumstances that happened tonight I thought would have been pushed to the top of his list" Rune said to himself while trying to get into a comfortable position. He was currently sitting on the floor with both of his arms being locked and chained to the wall. Several seals had been added to ensure zero chance of escape. From the pace and steps that he was led to, Rune guessed that he was somewhere underground in or near Konoha. As much as he can sense chakra and get some rough shapes, he couldn't see any details of a person past his three inch thick mask. "In hindsight, I probably should have left one hole open before rushing it" he said at the irony of escaping one death, but if he didn't eat something he might as well die from starvation.

*Click* was the sound of his cell's key fitting into the mechanism of the lock and turned to unlocking it. The cell door let out a pitched squeak before someone entered the cell. "You have a hearing with the Shinobi and Civilian Council of Konoha. Hokage-sama has instructed me to tell you that under the current situation you are to have the seals placed on you for some time during the hearing. If you are proven not to be an immediate threat, the seals will be released" said Tiger as he proceeded to remove the chains from Rune and add the hand cuffs. He lifted Rune off the floor and out of the cell to the Council Room.

After several minutes of climbing staircases and walking down hallways, Tiger and Rune had arrived before the door to the council. Tiger grabbed the door knob just as Rune spoke up for the first time to him. "How long have I been in the ice?" Rune asked generally concerned as to how much time he had missed. Tiger picked up on the slight stress for a moment and said "12 years" before opening the door to allow him and his prisoner to meet with the Council. Once they were both stationed before the council, the door closed behind them. The Civilian Council was staring at Rune leering eyes as they had been told that this child 'supposedly' helped their Yondaime stop the Kyūbi attack. The Shinobi Council had been looking at the teen to measure what kind of person who had willingly freeze themselves to escape an enemy ninja. Hiruzen was looking at Rune with eyes full of stress from the previous night to the current situation before him.

"We the Elders and Council of Konohagakure have gathered here this morning to discuss the charges that ninja before us has been accused of" Hiruzen said to draw the council to him so that they could get this mockery of a trial out of the way, hoping that he could at least spare this child's life. Once everyone was looking in his general direction he continued, "Before we can start this trial, we need a few questions answered. To begin with, will you inform us today as to the name that you go by, Shinobi-san" the Sandaime asked.

"My name is of little importance at the moment, but if you need a name you can address me as Rune of Kawa for now" he said while surveying the Shinobi Council from their reactions from his answer. _'Give as little information as possible but enough to satisfy their curiosity' was the saying right'_ he thought while hearing several councilmen discussing with each other_._ One of the more… "Well-rounded" civilian councilmen started the discussion. "Kawa, why would they send anyone to Konoha, let alone have any ninja. From our records, there is no Hidden Village in Kawa" he said while letting out a superior tone towards the child. Rune turned his head towards him and simply said "Did I ever say that I was part of a Hidden Village?" with a bored tone at the stupidity of some people. That shut the councilman up as he was turning red from anger at the tone this child displayed to him. The room was filled with a light chuckle as everyone was looking for the source of it. The noise came from none other than the matriarch and head of the Hunter-Unit, Tsume Inuzuka.

"The kids got quite the tongue on him. Let's try not to ask him any stupid questions or we might be here all day, hehe" still chuckling that the civilian side wasn't taking this seriously and got chewed out on it by the very one on trial. Now the civilian side was glaring at both Tsume and Rune for their sly remark. Rune looked around to see that someone had actually been sleeping through this entire racket. Racking through his brain to figure out which clan could do he had missed the question being asked. "Sorry, could you repeat the question" he asked.

"I said, Care to explain the reason as to why you were here in Konoha 12 years ago and why you have desecrated our home by freezing yourself" asked Koharu, one of the elders and old teammate of the Sandaime. Rune turned his head towards the elder before he explained to everyone in the room how he had met the Priestess of Oni no Kuni and told him to head for Konohagakure. "…Slumber in the cradle of ice for the truth lies beyond. That's pretty much how I got to Konoha. As for '_desecrating'_ your home, I chose that location because it was the ideal location where I wouldn't have been killed by anyone who would foolishly go against the Hokage and the Fire Daimyo" he said matter of fact. From what Rune couldn't see, the entire room (except from the sleeping Clan Head) was gaping that a child would go to all that trouble just because some Priestess told him to. There was silence before Rune spoke up looking directly at the sleeping ninja at who he decided to take a wild guess at. "I know that this is a tedious excuse for a trial/interrogation, but my life is hanging on the balance. Would you like to ask your question, Nara-san?" he asked as everyone turned to see the Nara Clan's head on the table before he shifted to stare at Rune with lazy stare.

"*Yawn* How annoying…yeah, I suppose I do have a question for you" Shikaku Nara, current head of the Nara Clan said. Everyone had remained quite at the confrontation before them. To pick a fight with the Jōnin Commander was one thing, but to do it just to wake him up was just suicide. Shikaku looked over to see the Hyūga to see if there was any change from Rune, Hiashi merely shook his head. _'So he hasn't been lying to us, but he isn't giving the whole truth. Let's see what does after this' _Shikaku thought now looking at Runes left hand as he asked his question. "Who were or are you running away from?"

The room went quiet waiting for their prisoner to answer the question. Shikaku was still staring at Rune's hand as he watched it slowly turn into a fist. The Sandaime had decided to intervene upon looking at Shikaku's solemn gaze. "Alright, that is enough, we are here to determine the actions that the accused has been charged with" he said, forcing everyone to lift their gaze off of the child. Homura, the other team member of the Sandaime, stood out of his seat and began to walk towards Rune with a scroll of all of the charges. Once he was finished going over them, he asked Rune which he had pleaded. "Guilty" was all that Rune had said. The civilian side kept spouting out at having the prisoner executed of the murder of their Hokage, while the shinobi side stared at Rune with a raised brow. Hiruzen asked the civilians to remain quiet as he released a bit of KI to make his point across as he was looking at Rune with a concerned look. "Do you have anything to say before the sentencing is finished" he said as rune moved his cuffed hands behind his head while moving his legs into a more comfortable position after regaining his composure from the Shikaku's question.

"I wish to invoke the Act of Service to the Sandaime Hokage in exchange for dropping these charges" Rune said with a tone that showed no fear in his voice as he stood before them. Several seconds had passed before the Civilian side let multiple protests towards their Hokage while said Hokage was thinking over this decision. "ANBU, escort the Civilian Council out. It would appear that this is now a shinobi affair" the Sandaime stated with a wave of his hand as three ANBU came into the room to escort the protesting councilmen. Once they left and the door closed, Hiruzen looked back at Rune who had not moved from that last exchange. Hiashi was the first to break the silence and tension that had built up. "What is it that you could provide for Konoha that we don't already have?" the Hyūga said with his iron clad face that hadn't faded in the last decade.

"If you can un-cuff me, then I will be more than happy to show you something that hasn't been seen since the First War" Rune said lifting his hands from behind his head and shoving them to the front. The Elders were showing a glare at Rune while the shinobi side was preparing in case something did happen. Tiger looked to the Hokage for some form of instruction. He had received a nod to release Rune but to stay alert. Once the cuffs had been removed, Rune was rubbing his wrist out of soreness. He then brought his hands to the lower part of his mask and infused it with chakra. The part he touches was starting to fall off into his hand at the surprise of everyone. The lower part of his face could now be seen by everyone as he brought the metal ball to his other hand and it started to expand. The metal began to form into a kunai and once it was done, it was caught by Rune before it could hit the floor. "Alright then, now you have just witnessed what I can do. I can create hundreds of weapons in a short amount of time, though it all depends on the materials that I use. Try it out if you wish" he said as he threw the kunai heading straight for the Hokage. Hiruzen caught it before his hand was being dragged to the desk by the kunai.

Hiruzen added more chakra towards his hands to stop its descending. The blade had stopped a few centimeters away from impaling the new genin team's sheets. His hands were still shaking from the sudden weight of the kunai. "Heavy, isn't it" Hiruzen looked up to see Tiger holding a tantō towards Rune's neck. "The reason for it is because of the minerals of that are found in Konoha. I simply changed the composition of the steel from being light to being heavy. Right now you are holding around 67 pounds of pure steel" he said while pointing at the kunai. "How many weapons can you make in a single day" Koharu asked still surprised that there was someone alive that could use Kōton. Rune turned his head towards the elder and the faintest of smiles had crept along his uncovered face. "More than enough to put Konoha's entire armory to shame".

Everyone had remained quiet at the statement that Rune had said. Several more minutes had passed with the elders discussing with the Hokage and the Shinobi Council adding their two cents as Rune remained in the same position with Tigers tantō still at his throat. When the discussion had ended, the Sandaime looked at Rune with a harden glare as he spoke "We will consider allowing you to join Konoha, but only once you have completed a mission of our choosing. You will be placed into a team to ensure the village of that you hold no ill intent. Also, we ask that you supply Konoha with the items that we ask on a monthly basis to determine the quality of our weaponry to the ones you make. These are the conditions to allow you to be in our forces" Hiruzen said as he stared at the young man. "Yes, Hokage-sama" Rune replied as he gave a short bow.

"Very well, this meeting is now adjourned. Thank you all for coming on such short notice" Hiruzen said as he watched the remaining councilmen and elders leave the room. The only ones left were himself, Tiger and Rune. "I have had well over a decade waiting for this moment as to when I can talk to you" the Hokage said as he got out of his chair and made his way towards Rune. As he stood there, Rune was feeling anxiety build up at having to stand before a Kage. Hiruzen lifted his right and gently placed it on the top of the teens head. "Thank you, for helping my successor in our time of need" Hiruzen said in a grandfatherly tone. Rune just stood there surprised that the Hokage was patting his had liked a child. Waking up from the shock, Rune grabbed the Hokage's hand and slowly lowered it to speak. "I was only doing what I thought was the right thing to do."

"Well, I guess now we need to find you a place to live as well as people to be part of your team. Though that may be pose to be a challenge since all of the teams have already been placed" Hiruzen said with thoughtful expression. "If I may Hokage-sama, could you bring me several files of active shinobi from genin to Chūnin rank that no longer has a team as well as non-active ninja within my age group?" Rune asked. Hiruzen looked at him with an arched brow as he signaled Tiger to retrieve the files that they had. They had waited three minutes before Tiger returned holding two files. He looked through each one of them carefully and went to his desk to pull out different forms for Rune to fill out. "As of now, these are the only two that are currently available to be placed in your team. One is from the Nara Clan while the other is…"Hiruzen was quiet and mumbled something that escaped Rune's hearing. "Forgive me Hokage-sama, but is there something wrong with this other person" Rune asked seeing the Hokage tilting his hat down to cover his face.

"No…no, there isn't. I'll be sure to send a message to each of them to report here tomorrow morning for a briefing. Is that alright?" Hiruzen lifted his head to see that Rune was nodding at the time period. Retrieving the files and the new genin register, he asks Rune to walk with him to the academy so that they can discuss his new living arrangements. "Actually, a few months before the Kyūbi attack, I was able to purchase a small apartment complex near the edge of Konoha and was wondering if I could turn it into my new workspace" Rune replied as he wrote down his address from what he remembered. The Hokage nearly tripped at seeing the address but caught himself. The two of them continued on their walk towards the Academy.

12:08 p.m. The Academy Infirmary

"Uggggghhhh…my head…why is my room spinning?" said a blonde (newly appointed) ninja opening his eyes to see the white ceiling of what looked like his room. He started to lift himself up to get into a sitting position on the rather comfortable bed, rubbing his eyes during the process. Blinking a few times to get his surroundings, he sees; an open window, a small desk with several papers over it and some jars with weird pills in it. Now fully awake, Naruto could see the practice fields from the open window. "Huh, why am I at the Academy?" Naruto pondered for a bit before his eyes widen at remembering. Jumping out of the bed, the blonde ran towards the door and slammed it open before crashing into someone. *THUMP* the two crashed into the opposite wall from Naruto's force and not being prepared from being crashed into. "OW, could you at least watch were you're going Naruto" said the person who Naruto crashed into.

Looking up, the blonde see's Iruka rubbing his now sore stomach. "Oh, hey Iruka-sensei. How are- waits, there's no time for this. We need to go see Ojii-san now so that he…" Naruto said in a rushed voice before Iruka covered his mouth with his hand. "Naruto, you need to calm down. He said that if he didn't meet you before me, then I was to tell you that he will be fine and out before the day was over. Does that answer your question" Iruka asked as he saw the knucklehead go throw a series of faces before ending up with a nod and getting off the ground. Iruka had to use the window seal as leverage to get off the ground. Once he caught his breath, he looked at Naruto to see him grinning. "So, are you ready for today, Naruto" Iruka asked already knowing the answer. Naruto brought his hands behind his head and let out a soft chuckle as he replied "No worries, Iruka-sensei. You're looking at the future Hokage after all. I'm ready for anything". After the two of the walked halfway towards the classroom, Iruka had to go meet with the other teachers to receive the new genin list. Naruto walked the rest of the way towards his classroom for the final time as a student and now a genin. When he opened the door, he heard several of his classmates chatting with one another and more than one squealing fan girl a few feet away from a displeased Uchiha. Seeing that the Teme (in Naruto's mind) was getting noticed, made his way over to him and jumped on his desk. They then began their daily 'stare –till-Naruto-gives-up' contest where Naruto has as of yet to make Sasuke blink.

"HEY BAKA, LEAVE SASUKE-KUN ALONE" Sakura yelled out followed by several other classmates demanding the knucklehead to get away from 'their' Sasuke. Both Naruto and Sasuke ignored them as they continued the staring, completely unaware that the student in front of them was rocking back and forth from his chair. Losing his balance and falling backwards, the student was waiting for his head to hit the desk behind him. Sasuke waiting for Naruto to blink, *POOF* was heard as the orange clad idiot vanished to be replaced with someone with long white hair catching the student in front of him. "That's really dangerous playing in your seat, you know" the white haired teen said as a majority of the class was now staring at him. Sasuke blinked at the stranger and then looked around to what happened to the Dobe.

Naruto, with all of his luck was trying to figure out how he had ended up near the back of the room when he was on the front desk. He had landed on something soft to take the impact. When he had lifted his head up, he saw a pair of pupil less eyes and a very red face that only continued to darken with each passing second. Two seconds later, the person beneath Naruto had fainted from Naruto's opinion weird and from a medical perspective, too much blood rushing to the brain. Now looking at the position he was in, Naruto got out of that position rather quickly with a tint of pink at never being that close to another girl's body. Trying to distract his mind, Naruto looked around to see the ice statue guy on Sasuke's desk. "Hey, you're alright. I thought the ANBU had taken you?" Naruto said as he ran down the stairs as Rune had jumped off the desk. Rune looked at the back of the room to see a girl with; a hime style haircut, pink fur hooded jacket along with a very red face. Seeing this, he looks back at Naruto, then to the fallen kunoichi and back to Naruto. He had to let out a chuckle at the accident that he had unintended caused. _'Poor girl, I should apologize to her when she wakes up'_ he thought as he bent down to Naruto's eye level. "I told your sensei to pass along a message if I didn't see you. And also I wanted to say this before we were interrupted…Congratulations, Naruto-kun" Rune said as he patted the blondes head. At that moment, Iruka had walked in with his genin file and watched Rune patted Naruto on his head as the rest of the class began to gossip about the stranger. "Alright class, return to your seats so that I can begin to assign you to your new teams" Iruka yelled out having the whole class returning to their assigned seats. Rune lifted his hand off of Naruto's head and walked out of the classroom. After Iruka had announced several other teams, he spoke "Team 7 will consist of Naruto Uzumaki…Sasuke Uchiha…" Every girl was leaning in their seats waiting for their name to be called out. "And Hinata Hyūga."

Same time at the Nara Compound

Once Shikaku had returned home from this 'annoying' trial that the civilian council had pulled out, he was greeted with an ANBU with a monkey mask holding out a red envelope with the Hokages seal. Seeing this, he grabs the letter and sees Monkey vanish. Opening the contents to view what had happen during the short time period (being 2 minutes running to the tower, 10 minute walk, 3 hours if you're a Nara with nothing to do). As he finished reading it, he went into the house to see a long, brown hair woman with three strands framing her face. She was currently wearing a pink blouse and dark-colored skirt along with an apron over it. This was the woman who single handedly made the Nara compound get off their lazy asses to take their work seriously with nothing more than an iron skillet and was Shikaku's wife. "So, how did your meeting go" she said with a tone that said 'tell me or get whacked'. Shikaku had let out a heavy sigh as he handed over the parchment to his wife. She grabbed it, skimmed through it and proceeded into the house to find him.

The letter Shikaku had received was for Dante Nara, his nephew from his now deceased younger brother, to report to the Hokage Tower tomorrow morning to be assigned to a new squad. "GET OUT OF BED, DANTE" Yoshino yelled out as a few birds flew away from the screaming. A few minutes later his wife appeared before him dragging his 16 year old nephew with her. He was wearing a long short-sleeved black hoody, the front of it extending to his knees with the leaf symbol on it. He had his kunai pouch sewn on to his grey pants to ensure that he couldn't forget about it. He had on two leather belts around his hips for some odd reason Shikaku couldn't remember. Dante had his father's face while he inherited his mother's eye color, which was a bright red color. His dark grey hair spiked up to the right side covering most of his face from view. He also has a tattoo on the left side of his neck in the form of 7. When anyone tries to asks about it, all anyone gets is 'it's a pain to explain' before looking elsewhere.

Yoshino let go of her nephew and smiled at her husband before returning to the kitchen to continue cooking lunch. "What a pain, did you need me for something, Oji (Uncle)" Dante said with the famous Nara look. Shikaku looked at his nephew as he extended his hand to help him off the ground. "The Hokage would like to see you tomorrow morning to assign you to a new squad" Shikaku said plainly simple. Once off the ground, Dante looked at his Oji and let out a sigh. "Alright, I'll be there" he said as he walked back into the house to resume sleeping. Shikaku was looking at the direction that his wife and nephew went and let out a sigh. "Let's hope that Shikamaru is having a better day than the rest of us" he said to no one in particular before making his way to the kitchen.

Same time, Villa on the Outskirts of Konoha

"Are you sure that this is alright, I mean…she hasn't even been out of the villa, let alone the Village" one of the clansman said to the current head of the Clan. He looked back showing that there would be no more on this discussion. The clansman quickly bowed and left to continue his duty for the day. The current head had made his way towards the back of the villa where he could see his 15 year old niece painting the scenery before them. Her long brown hair was straight on one side, but on the other side it tied in a braid. Her outfit was a pink kimono that was being held closed by a pink sash. On the back of the kimono was their clan's symbol of three white lines in the shape of a wing. This was the symbol of the Kurama Clan, the shinobi who excel in genjutsu. "Yakumo-sama…" the current head said. Yakumo stopped drawing to turn around to see who it was. Her light brown eyes had stopped to see who was asking for her.

"Hello, Oji, is there something that you wished to talk to me about?" she asked in a dignified tone as to why her uncle would come to see her during this time. He didn't say anything as he pulled out a red letter with the Hokage's seal and handed it to her. Yakumo took it and asked "what is this for?" while staring at her uncles silence. Mere moments passed when he found his voice. "That is a summons to report to the Hokage tomorrow morning to be placed into a team. Now bef-" "I'll go" Yakumo interrupted her uncle before he could protest. She had wanted to be part of a team for so long that see wasn't about to lose this one chance that was given to her. "My health has not been an issue for the last few months and I would like to uphold our clans honor just like all of my clansmen before me. Nothing you say is going to change my mind" she said with a tone that meant the conversation was over. Her uncle, Unkai, bowed his head and said "Very well, Yakumo-sama" before leaving the heiress to continue painting. Yakumo had picked up her painting again to see how much was done. "I wonder what they will be like. I can't wait to meet them" she said with a smile on her face before returning to her drawing.

**Hello Everyone. This is the longest chapter that I have ever written and it was so much fun writing it. There are a few things that I would like to clear up. There are only three members of the Shinobi Council, three members of the Civilian Council and the Elders of the Village who have any say in Konoha's affairs. Now for the OC, Dante, this character was drawn and own by Su-Zhe-ou. If you wish to see him, go to my profile page and click on the link beside his name. And also tell me what you think about Runes outfit. Review and tell me what you all think. Thank you so much.**


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